


You Have Me

by ShesLikeTexas



Series: The Avengers Mafia AU [1]
Category: Marvel
Genre: College student Tony, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Howard's A+ Parenting, M/M, Mob Boss Steve Rogers, Possessive Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, mention of suicide, mentions of abuse, young Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 00:11:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20183020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShesLikeTexas/pseuds/ShesLikeTexas
Summary: Tony Stark is a twenty year old college student trying to get by after being cut off by his father. Enter: Art student Steve Rogers, otherwise known as "The Captain," one of the most powerful crime bosses in New York.





	You Have Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sabrecmc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabrecmc/gifts).

> This is my first Stony fic, so try to go easy on me. This is for @sabrecmc, because everything you've ever written is wonderful, and I appreciate all of the hard work you put into your fic rec blog. 
> 
> This is also a self-indulgent story. I love me some Mob Boss Steve Rogers. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**You Have Me**

“Next?” 

Tony stepped forward in line, one step closer to his beloved holy grail. After a quick glance at his watch, he blinked, realizing that he was coming up on his seventy-two hour mark of being awake. The calculations for a potential final project displayed themselves within his mind like perfect lines of code, keeping his attention from settling on anything concrete around him. Tony’s brain stuttered like it always did when he went too long without sleep, and he muttered curses under his breath as he rubbed his temples. He needed coffee. He wasn’t sure he could keep himself from spontaneously combusting without it.

Last night, Tony had stayed up all night, yet again, jumping between his own projects, redlining his students’ completely useless papers on Thermodynamics, and completing the upcoming week’s lesson plans. Tony’s work on his project had doubled since he was working alone, so that didn’t help either. He had the _tiniest_ tendency to give his partners (technically only two partners, because after the second one dropped out from a nervous breakdown, his professor’s stopped pairing him up) whiplash. But it was Friday, which meant he just needed to get through his eleven o’clock class before he could hop on a bus to take him back to his run down apartment and pass out for two days straight.

“Next?” The barista’s gum smacked audibly, and Tony didn’t bother hiding his grimace at the sound.

Eyes still closed, his fingertips dug more insistent into his temples, slightly relieving the pressure that had built up. It wasn’t enough though. Tony needed some caffeine in his system if he had any hope of making it through the day without tearing the heads off of one of his students for so much as _breathing_ in his direction.

“I said _next_.” The annoyance lacing her tone snapped Tony’s eyes open, ready to snarl at the next person in line to hurry the fuck up, but he blinked in surprise to see the barista looking at _him _impatiently, arms crossed in front of her chest.

The back of his neck warmed significantly, and he pawed at it. Tony stepped forward, cursing again as he tripped over his worn out sneakers and catching himself on the black marble counter. “Uh, right, sorry. Sorry.” Tony huffed out a breath, fumbling for his wallet, held together by scotch tape. “I’ll take a large black coffee with one, no, no, two shots of espresso.”

The barista raised a brow, obviously not impressed with his borderline eccentricity. She put the order into the register and popped her gum again. “That will be eight ninety-five.”

  
Tony’s eyes widened as he leaned forward and shook his head. “What? No way. That’s two dollars more than last week.”

She shrugged, not bothered in the slightest. “They raised the prices over the weekend. Eight ninety-five.”

He stared down at the crumpled five dollar bill and stained coins in his hand. He only had enough to pay for the coffee that had been six dollars and ninety-five cents for the last _four_ years, and they just _now_ decided to raise the prices? Usually, he just saved money by making the shitty stuff at home, only letting himself indulge in the coffeeshop every other Monday, but he couldn’t stock back up on the bare essentials at the store until he got paid later that evening.

This was just un-fucking-believable.

The corners of his eyes prickled, and he wiped a shaky hand across his face. Tony cleared his suddenly tight throat and shook his head. “Uh, okay. Can you make it a medium coffee with just one shot of espresso?”

Her jaw twitched in frustration as she rang up the new order. “Seven fifteen, then”

His stomach dropped again, and his embarrassment flared as he thought about what a goddamn loser he looked like. Three years ago, he had enough money to buy out fifty of these fucking coffee shops, and now he was scrounging up change for a cup of coffee.

“Ah, sorry. Just the coffee then.” He dropped the coins onto the counter, each one ringing too loud between his ears.

Just as the barista opened her mouth to tell him off, a deep voice sounded behind him. “Get him the large with two shots of espresso.”

“What? He barely has enough to pay for-”

Tony was suddenly very aware of a mammoth presence behind him, and he automatically stiffened, keeping his eyes forward. “Throw in two blueberry muffins, a piece of pumpkin bread, and a large latte as well.” The man’s voice didn’t leave any room to argue, so the barista nodded warily and put in the order. A large hand reached around his shoulder and dropped a twenty onto the counter, and Tony wasn’t able to keep from flinching away as the open hand neared his face when it pulled back.

He tried to stomp down his embarrassment at having to be rescued like a fucking damsel in distress, sucking in enough air to feign confidence as he spun around, his brain shorting out as he did. At first, all he saw was a very broad, very muscular chest, covered in a tight grey sweater with a navy blue overcoat. His eyes traveled upwards and Tony took a hesitant step back.

The resemblance to his (secretly) beloved comic book hero, Captain America, was seriously uncanny. The strong, chiseled jaw? The wispy golden blonde hair? The striking deep blue eyes that kept you frozen in place? Plus, the man’s shoulder to waist ratio was enough to make even a Victoria Secret Angel go weak in the knees.

It took Tony a few thoroughly embarrassing moments to remember his poorly ingrained manners. “I, er, thank you. I...you didn’t have to do that. I was fine with just the regular coffee…” His cheeks warmed again, and he wasn’t able to keep looking up at the man’s expression, which was hovering between amusement and something that resembled worry. 

“Don’t worry about it. It kind of looks like you might need it to stay on two feet.”

Tony’s eyes snapped towards the floor and he held out the five dollar bill with a shaky hand. The least he could do was try to pay his knight in shining armor back. Instead of taking it though, the man lightly grabbed Tony’s covered forearm and led him out of the growing line and towards an empty table. “Sit. And keep your money.”

He obeyed silently, fiddling uncomfortably with a stray piece of circuitry he left in the pocket of his hoodie while the man disappeared. He returned a few seconds later, sitting down and pushing the coffee and both blueberry muffins in front of Tony. “Eat.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked up at his rescuer carefully. “Uh, what?”

The corners of the man’s lips twitched. “I said you should eat. You look like you’re in danger of being blown over by a stiff wind. And in this weather, that might just be a possibility.”

Tony chewed on the inside of his cheek and stuffed the piece of circuitry back into his pocket. “I-You didn’t have to get me anything to eat. The coffee is more than enough.”

The man shrugged. “Indulge me.”

Well...if he was offering…

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, finally acknowledging his lack of sustenance within the past twenty-four hours, Tony’s stomach roared to life. His cheeks tinted again, and he wiped his hands across the thighs of his ripped jeans before biting off a piece of one of the muffins and swallowing down a gulp of coffee.

He hummed, his body instantly responding to the surprising meal. “Wow...thank you. Really.” Tony chewed and offered his hand. “I’m Tony.”

The man took his hand and squeezed it tight. It practically engulfed Tony’s. “Steve.”

They grinned at one another for a few moments before Tony coughed awkwardly, realizing that he probably held on for way longer than was strictly necessary. “So, what are you doing in Cambridge?”

Steve took a sip of his own drink. “I’m taking a few classes at Harvard’s art school.”

“You’re a student?” Tony asked incredulously. He would have guessed the man was in his upper twenties judging by his height and not-so hidden muscles practically popping out of his layers.

The amused look was back. “What, you think I’m too old for that or something? I’m twenty-seven.”

That was news to Tony. He couldn’t help raking his eyes over the man once again, then catching himself and fighting the flinch of remembering his own father’s reprimand of just exactly what he thought of Tony ogling other men. He played it off with a shrug. “I guess it’s just surprising. All of my students are even younger than I am. I never pegged you as one yourself.”

“Your students?” Steve asked, obviously interested.

Tony preened, just slightly. “Yeah, I’m a TA in the Engineering department at MIT. Working on getting my third doctorate right now.”

Steve’s brow disappeared behind his perfectly cropped hair. “That’s very impressive, Tony.” He leaned forward, taking a bite of his pumpkin bread and keeping his eyes on the smaller man. “If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”

Tony thumbed his half-way empty coffee cup, trying to decide if he wanted to lie to seem older. Somehow, he thought Steve would be able to see past his bullshit. “I’ll be twenty-one in a few months.”

The older man didn’t reply, so Tony looked up to see Steve’s head tilted in thought, eyes brazenly raking across his ragged form. As he opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ to break the tense silence, Steve spoke up. “Why does it look like you haven’t been taking very good care of yourself?" 

Tony blinked. What the hell? He narrowed his eyes, tucking his cup closer to his skinny frame and leaning back in the chair. “I take care of myself just fine, thank you very much.

Steve was silent again, until he sat up straight, somehow absorbing all of the authority in the room, commanding attention and looking impossibly bigger. Out of the corner of Tony’s eye, he could see a handful of other patrons shifting uncomfortably once they noticed it as well. “Tony, that hoodie is practically hanging off of you. If I touched you, I bet that I could feel your ribs, meaning you aren’t eating enough. And judging by the incident at the register, you are barely getting by on whatever the university pays you to teach. And when you do spend it, it’s on coffee, not food, which means you need it to stay awake. That, combined with the circles forming under your eyes leads me to believe you aren’t sleeping either. So no, I don’t believe you are taking care of yourself properly.”

Tony sucked in a breath, blatantly ignoring the surge of heat that hit him at the thought of Steve touching his stomach. What the fuck just happened? “How…” His gaze shifted unsteadily around the coffee shop, suddenly worried that this was all just some practical joke set up by his father and Obie to prove that Tony really couldn’t survive being cut off.

The older man gave him a soft smile, dissipating his fears. “I was in the army. The 107th.” He said by way of explanation. “It’s sort of my prerogative to notice things.”

The last thing Tony needed right now was someone looking down on him thinking he was some kind of charity case. He got enough shit from his father and Obie to last a lifetime, he didn’t want to hear it from Big, Blonde, and Beautiful either. Tony silently stuffed the rest of the provided breakfast into his mouth, washing it down with the last of his coffee. He carefully placed the second muffin into his bag and wiped his hands on his jeans again. He stood up slowly, seeing that Steve was frowning at him. “I really appreciate you paying for my coffee. And for breakfast.” He hitched his bag’s strap over his shoulder, trying to keep his expression neutral. “I have to get to class.”

As Steve stood up and put a hand out to stop him, Tony side stepped out of his reach. “And you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

He fought down the embarrassment and frustration of the last thirty minutes and braced himself against the cold.

XX

Steve watched Tony barrel out into the street without any proper winter attire with a deep frown marring his features. He wasn’t sure _why _he stepped in when the younger man was having trouble paying for his coffee, or _why _he felt it was important for him to eat. And he had no idea where the hell this sudden surge of protectiveness came from either. Steve barely knew anything about this man, besides his first name and the fact that he was obviously struggling.

Maybe that was it, he thought warily to himself. Steve had a soft spot for helping out those in rough situations. It was how he became The Captain after all. Once he grew out of his sickly form and put on some serious muscle during puberty, he and Bucky had cleared Steve’s old bullies off the streets. Over the past ten years, their parameters of influence had grown exponentially, spreading across Brooklyn and Queens before moving into the other Boroughs. He and his Howling Commandos were laughably unmatched when it came to fighting against those that the police couldn’t touch. Steve didn’t like bullies, it didn’t matter where they were from, so he spent eight years of his life building up the image and reputation of the Captain in New York, silently and stealthily taking out any opponent that stepped out of the shadows.

People fear the unknown, so that’s what Steve had become. Nobody ever saw his face, and if they did, they didn’t live to tell the tale. You take down enough drug dealers and destroy enough sex ring operations with practically no one knowing who you are or how you did it, your reputation begins to take on a life of its own. If the rumors were to be believed, the Captain ripped out the Boss of the Valentina crime family’s heart with his bare hands and mailed it to the man’s brother three years ago. It was utterly ridiculous, of course. It had been his left hand, and there was definitely a saw involved. The Valentina family simply needed to learn a lesson on what happens to people who stole from homegrown businesses in his territory.

Yet another silly rumor was that just last month, the Captain burned down a warehouse that housed and sold meth to children in the neighborhood. That one was a little closer to the truth. The Howling Commandos did in fact set the warehouse ablaze under his orders, but the Captain was nowhere near Brooklyn at the time.

Two years ago, Steve decided to pursue his true passion and get an art degree. With his colorful and decorated past in the army, and the funds provided by the Howling Commandos’ hundreds of scores, he was accepted on the first try, and Steve and Bucky took off for Boston, leaving Peggy in charge back home.

Steve trusted her to get the job done in his absence, and she didn’t disappoint. Nobody even noticed his absence, which allowed him to build another team here in Boston without anyone becoming the wiser. The Avengers were still in their early stages, but all of the ground work had been laid. Bucky was adamant that Steve must be carrying around some kind of lucky talisman or something for him to bring five of the most talented, brilliant, and dangerous criminals with an unwavering sense of loyalty together, four hundred miles outside of New York. 

He had known each of them were special from the moment he laid eyes on them. His gut instinct flared to life during each one of their initial meetings, and Steve instantly knew they had a role to play and demons to overcome. It had yet to steer him wrong, not with Bucky, not with Howling Commandos, and not with the Avengers.

And that same instinct was now practically flooding his ears as it screamed at him to run after Tony. It screamed ‘_Mine, mine mine._’ Well, wasn’t that interesting. 

XX

Tony pushed his strange encounter with ‘ex-army Steve’ out of his mind, convincing himself that he wouldn’t see him again. Why would he? It was a chance meeting. And Steve was...Steve was gorgeous. Everything he could ever want in a guy. But what would he see in Tony? Some dirt poor doctoral student who didn’t have anything lined up after graduation? Of course not. Plus, someone as gorgeous as Steve probably already had a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, Tony muttered to himself. He had no evidence that Steve even liked guys, it wasn’t polite to assume. 

The coffee had thankfully gotten him through class, allowing him to actually explain to his students why their work was shit, rather than just leaving them to figure it out for themselves. He checked his watch as they started packing up to leave, counting down the hours until his paycheck would hit his account.

The fact that he had gone from one of the richest kids in the country to quite literally living paycheck to paycheck was more than a little demeaning. The research grants were enough to cover his tuition, _thank fucking god_, but he was on his own for everything else. Tony had begged the dean of engineering to let him teach one of the undergrad classes, throwing out the fact that his last name on the administration list and his continued work for the department would look great for the University. The only catch was that between teaching the class, his actual degree course load, and his various projects strewn across his lab at the university and random places throughout his apartment, there wasn’t any time to pick up another job.

So, here he was, counting down the minutes until he could afford to buy groceries while he stepped onto the bus. Now that the caffeine from earlier that morning was no longer in his system, the migraine inched its way back between his temples. Tony leaned his head back against the cool window as the bus filled up around him. He didn’t live too far off campus, but it was a long enough trip for him to get in a quick power nap.

Tony jerked awake just in time to make his stop, pushing his way past the throngs of students and passerby’s. The faint stench of dried up whiskey hung in the alley as he climbed the metal staircase to his apartment, bringing back unwanted memories. He forced them down, swallowing down the conditioned fear that accompanied that smell.

He reminded himself that he was in Boston, not New York. Howard couldn’t touch him here.

XX

“The kid just stepped into his apartment.” Clint’s voice reported through his comm unit. “Remind me why I followed him back to his place?”

Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair back at their home base, lazily staring out of the discolored window pane. “I can’t be sure yet, Hawkeye. Mark down the address and head back for now.”

“Copy that, Captain.” The faint click sounded in his ear, and Steve ground his teeth together. Tony was just a _kid_, a ridiculously smart one at that, but a kid just the same. There wasn’t any reason for him to be involved in Avengers business in any way, shape, or form. So why the hell did Steve have an instinct to protect him? It didn’t make any sense.

When he first asked Clint to follow Tony, the archer had thought he was a potential target. Steve had practically snarled at the man, ordering him to stand down under any and all circumstances. Clint then threw up his hands placatingly, cocking an interested eyebrow. “New recruit, then?”

Steve frowned, still trying to figure out the answer to that question. What did he see in Tony to think he could be part of the Avengers? And maybe it wasn’t even that, maybe Steve just wanted to be closer to him. The kid was brilliant, that was obvious. Other than that, Steve didn’t know much about him. Hopefully something would come of the intel Clint would be gathering.

He was broken out of his thoughts by a knock at the cracked door, where Bucky flexed the hand of his metal prosthetic arm open and closed again. The wiring had gone to shit, and Steve knew it caused his best friend more pain than he would even consider letting on. “We’ve got something you’re gonna wanna see.” 

Steve brow furrowed in question as he stood up from behind his mahogany desk.

Bucky tilted his head towards the hallway. “Nat picked up a smuggler off the streets. Took him to the warehouse for interrogation.”

“Why does that interest me?” Steve asked, not wanting to be bothered with low level mules right now.

“Because the son of a bitch has a Hydra tattoo.”

Steve froze in his advance, eyes narrowing dangerously. That wasn’t possible. The Howling Commandos took out the last of Hydra back in New York. His gang had spent three years of their lives wiping out the rival gang, taking considerable losses in the process. It was what put them on the map, really. Hydra was basically a terrorist organization with how feared they were throughout the Boroughs, and when they went after Bucky in retaliation for their destroyed shipments, it became personal for Steve.

So when he came face to face with Johann Schmidt, who operated under the name Red Skull, Steve didn’t hesitate to make the nickname a little more accurate. While the killing had been messy, merciless, and downright barbaric, Steve didn’t so much as flinch as he stared down at the man who had murdered hundreds of people, destroyed even more lives, and took his best friend’s arm. The world was a safer place without someone like Johann Schmidt running around.

The collapse of Hydra solidified the Captain and his Howling Commandos’ place in the mafia hierarchy. Nobody fucked with his people or his territory and got away with it.

It was a message he intended to make crystal clear here in Boston as well.

And now Bucky was telling him that the rival gang was resurfacing. Steve took two calming breaths, forcing down his desired immediate reaction of putting his fist through a wall, instead wanting to wait to take out his frustration on the Hydra scum, and set his jaw. “Take me to him.” 

XX 

Tony groaned incoherently as the skinny metal arm poked and prodded at his side. He blinked awake, shooing away his bot’s claw. “Sleepin’, Dum-E.”

The prodding continued until it somehow managed to get tangled into the back of his thin hoodie, so that when the bot rolled backwards, it took Tony with it. He landed on the floor with a harsh thud, spitting out curses wildly and pushing himself back onto his feet. Tony shot Dum-E a look of pure disdain, muttering promises to sell him to a community college, before checking his watch. Just past six, excellent. That meant that the money was finally deposited into his account, and he could buy some actual groceries at the store.

Tony shook off his exhaustion and stripped, stepping into the shower spray to get cleaned up before his venture out. As the water trickled over him, Tony’s thoughts wandered back to Steve. The memory of his enormity over Tony had him already half-hard. When he palmed himself, he hissed in pleasure, keeping the shower-head angled so that the constant cascade of water hit him just right. Tony swallowed hard thinking about Steve’s broad chest, and what it would feel like to have him pressed up against the lines of his back. He closed his eyes as he stroked himself, long, slow slides up and down. Tony’s back arched as his muscles tightened in anticipation.

Thinking about Steve’s crystal blue eyes, closed in ecstatic pleasure as he grunted into the back of Tony’s neck, his large hands splayed across Tony’s stomach and chest as he held him place. The hand on his cock tightened and sped up desperately as he thought about what it would be like to have Steve recklessly pounding into him with utter abandon and...

“_Oh fuck_.” He came harder than he had in months, chest heaving as he tried to suck in some of the humid air. Tony caught his breath after a few moments, smiling lazily as his muscles loosened up again. It only took him a few extra minutes to actually get cleaned up before stepped out and wrapping a towel around his waist.

Tony brushed his teeth and pulled back on his jeans, hoping the temperature hadn’t dropped anymore so that the rips in the knees could be ignored. He threw on one of his three MIT sweaters and made sure his favorite beanie was around his ears nice and tight. It wouldn’t do to freeze before he could make some dinner.

It only took him about ten minutes to get to the store, hands stuffed into his pockets as he shifted from walking, lightly jogging, to a weird half-step that he didn’t even know where it came from. Tony decided to forgo a cart for one of the baskets and began roaming the isles, throwing in ten bags of flavored ramen, a massive container of Folgers, and a few frozen meals and pizzas before stopping in the cereal aisle to contemplate his choice between Honey Nut O’s and Fruity Floats.

“Tony?”

He spun around, eyes wide in disbelief as he watched the ex-army Captain America look alike from this morning, the subject of his shower fantasy, walk towards him. “Steve?”

If possible, the man looked even more handsome this evening. He was still sporting the tight grey sweater with the casual jeans and boots, but had switched out his nice navy overcoat for a dark green army jacket. “Funny running into you here.”

Tony looked down at the box of generic cereal in his hands and felt his cheeks warm. _Of-fucking-course_ Steve had to catch him pinching pennies. _Again_. He gave an awkward chuckle, placing the box into his overflowing basket. “Yeah, funny. It’s uh, good to see you again." 

Steve was looking at him with an odd expression, some kind of cross between amused and fond, something Tony couldn’t really understand. “It’s good to see you too. Did the second shot of espresso get you through your class today?”

He blinked, not really expecting the older man to want to have a conversation with him. “Yeah, it did actually. My students thank you by the way. Apparently I was actually bearable since I had the right amount of caffeine in me.”

Steve’s lips tilted upwards and he shrugged, “It might have had something to do with the breakfast too. I find that my temper is about a mile shorter if I skip out on food in the morning.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh at that, for some reason he just couldn’t see Steve flying off the handle at all, much less because he missed out on his eggs and bacon. “I’m inclined to agree with you. I normally prioritize coffee over food though, I’ve learned that I can’t live without it, despite what science tells me.”

The man’s eyes traveled to Tony’s basket, and he jutted his chin towards it. “I see you’re stocking up.”

“The essentials.” He said as a way of explanation. Tony didn’t want to have to explain that eighty percent of his paycheck goes to his shitty rent, so he had to live on the rest.

Steve stepped closer, bringing his hands out of his pockets and reaching for a box of Fruity Pebbles. “One of my favorite midnight snacks. Don’t tell anyone.” He gave him a shit eating grin, but Tony’s eyes zeroed in on his hand.

“Oh shit, Steve, you’re bleeding!”

The man stiffened, looking down with wide eyes before carefully schooling his expression and hiding the hand back into his pocket. “Ah, yeah, I was. I accidentally caught it on a loose wire from a fence. I’ll clean it up when I get home." 

Tony frowned, wanting to insist on helping him get cleaned up, but didn’t really know how he would do that here. “If you’re sure…” 

“I am.” And that was that, Tony somehow got the impression that the conversation was no longer open for further discussion. “Say, do you have a ride home?” 

Tony shrugged, “I don’t have a car, I don’t live too far from here, though.” 

Steve looked around for a moment before grinning down at him. “Why don’t I give you a ride?”

He immediately shook his head, “What? No, no, I couldn’t put you out like that. I’m fine walking.” Tony was already half-hard talking to Steve, he couldn’t imagine how much worse his body would betray him in the confined space of a car.

The older man took another step closer, and Tony could feel the heat radiating off of his body. He blinked, suddenly feeling dizzy at the nearness. “Let me do this, please? I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I knew you were out there in this weather.”

Tony hesitated again, completely thrown off by the outright generosity of this stranger. Semi-stranger, he guessed, since they’ve met twice now. And dammit, Steve just looked so _eager_. “I mean, if it will help you sleep at night...that would be great, thanks.”

The megawatt smile Steve flashed him made Tony’s toes curl, and he couldn’t help but grin back. “I’ll walk with you while you finish up.”

XX

They spent the next thirty minutes or so chatting and walking around the store while Tony picked up items here and there, his hands never able to be completely still. The younger man didn’t talk much, but Steve had a feeling that would change once Tony felt a little more comfortable around him, something he fully intended to pursue. He learned that Tony earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, then a masters in physics, and two doctorates in biomedical and civil engineering. Currently, he was working on completing his third and final doctorate in computer engineering.

It was _unbelievable _how smart Tony was. And he was only twenty years old.

It didn’t take long for Steve to surmise that Tony was a certified genius, and a handsome one at that. He might be thin under the baggy clothes, but his caramel brown eyes were warm, crinkling on the sides when he smiled. Steve found that he couldn’t help grinning back when Tony smiled at him, suddenly wanting to keep it there for as long as possible.

He took the basket when it was obvious Tony was struggling with the weight, but didn’t offer to pay for the groceries when they reached the register. The flush of embarrassment painted across his cheeks was enough to tell Steve that his generosity wouldn’t be appreciated here. Instead, he just carried Tony’s bags to the backseat of his truck, politely ignoring the younger man’s childlike inspection of the vehicle.

“Ecoboost 3.5 liter V-6?” He asked as Steve opened the passenger seat door for him.

Steve wasn’t really surprised that Tony knew his way around a car. With how much information was probably running through his brain, Tony probably could tear the entire truck apart and put it back together so that it ran ten times better than it originally did. “Good eye, 450 horsepower. My friends and I hunt as often as we can, so it comes in handy.” When he settled into his own seat, he asked, “If you could drive any car, what would you choose?”

Tony tapped his fingers along the dash. “Probably an Audi, but nothing that’s currently on the market. I could make them better.”

“I kind of get the feeling that’s not just you bragging.” Steve huffed. “So, where am I taking you?”

“Just off Cambridge and Anderson. You know, you really didn’t have to do this.” Tony told him sheepishly while watching the street lamps switch on out the window.

Steve examined him out of the corner of his eye, admiring how the shadows of the setting sun danced across his face. “I wanted to. Gives me an excuse to spend a little bit more time with you.” 

Tony blinked, attention back on Steve. “You...want to spend more time with me?” 

“Yes,” He answered immediately, ignoring the rushing in his ears. Might as well go for it. He hadn’t had a date in...dammit, had it really been _three years_? “I think you’re swell, Tony.”

That earned him an honest to God snort, which Tony tried to hide by covering up his face. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you just used the word ‘swell’ in a real life sentence!”

Steve reached over and gave his shoulder a light shove. “Don’t go makin’ fun while I’m trying to compliment you.” 

Tony’s cheeks visibly flushed, and his caramel brown eyes widened in confusion. “You really want to uh...hang out more?”

Steve paused before answering, trying to decipher what his gut instinct was telling him. Tony might be young, but seven years truly wasn’t that big of a difference. Considering his growing feelings were _exponentially _different from how he felt with the other Avengers, he trusted that this _was _what he actually wanted. And he did, he wanted Tony.

“I’d actually like to take you on a date.” Steve decided, parking the truck outside of the shitty apartments Tony had pointed out. He turned in his seat so that he could take in Tony’s deer-in-the-headlights look. “If you’re okay with that, of course. If that makes you uncomfortable, I’d like to still be friends. Maybe get a cup of coffee again.” 

It was quiet for a few moments while Tony blinked at him, and Steve patiently waited for him to process the new information. “You actually want to go on a date with me?” 

Steve smiled, pushing down his amusement at the younger man’s continued confusion. “_Yes_, Tony, I really do. I think you’re great. I’d love the chance to get to know you more.” 

“I, uh, yeah,” He coughed, running a hand over his beanie. “I would, yeah, like that. A lot. Like a lot a lot.”

His grin grew. “Perfect. How about I pick you up tomorrow night for dinner? Say..seven?”

“Seven. Yes. That, uh, yes. Seven sounds great.” Tony stuttered, lips twitching upwards uncontrollably. It was adorable. He stepped out and grabbed his groceries from the back seat.

Steve made to open his own door, “Can I help you with those?”

Tony shook his head, the stunning grin still plastered across his face. “No please, the ride was enough. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I’m in apartment three-B, if you uh, want to pick me up there.” 

“I’ll be there.” Steve confirmed, shooting the younger man a wink. 

The sputtering in response was pretty good for his ego.

XX

As Steve stepped through the front door to the Avenger’s base of operations, a simple, decent sized condo in Boston, Bucky met him in the hallway with a scowl on his face. “Where the hell have you been?”

He held up the bag that contained a box of Fruity Pebbles. “I went to the store. We finished off the last box a few days ago.”

Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, “For two fuckin’ hours? Try again." 

“Since when do you need to know where I’m spending my time, Buck?” Steve asked, suddenly annoyed, and pushed past him into the living room. He didn’t keep second-by-second tabs on his friends and soldiers, and he expected them to give them the same courtesy. 

“Since Hydra stepped onto the scene again, jerk.” Bucky followed behind and dropped down onto one of the leather couches. “We don’t know what kind of scale they’re trying to make a comeback on. You need to be careful.”

Steve fought the urge to roll his eyes. “No one knows who I am, Buck. And since Schmidt is dead, they won’t know who you are either. As long as we stop them early on, things will be fine.”

Bucky frowned again, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “Since when do you keep secrets, Stevie?” 

Clint and Natasha chose that moment to step into the room, shaking off their winter coats. “Since he started having me tail a grad student at MIT. I thought we weren’t supposed to make contact, Cap?”

They all turned to look at him, with various expressions. Bucky looked more pissed off than anything, while Clint was confused, maybe even a little hurt that Steve had inserted himself into the operation. Natasha just raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, but otherwise kept her face blank.

“You’re working a job? Why didn’t I know about this?” His best friend demanded, scooting over so that Natasha could kick her feet up onto his lap. 

Steve ground his teeth. “I’m not working a job. I’m just keeping an eye out for someone, that’s all.”

“Apparently he’s not a potential target.” Clint explained, perching himself atop the back of Steve’s couch. “But we weren’t supposed to make contact. What happened when you dropped him off?”

He shook his head, the frustration starting to rush unpleasantly between his ears. “Nothing happened.”

“Why were you dropping him off? Why was he in your truck in the first place?” Bucky asked, his tone more than a little accusatory.

“What is this, twenty questions?” Steve bit out, nails digging into his skin to keep from snapping at his friends.

Natasha apparently had enough. “Shut up, both of you.” Bucky and Clint quieted down immediately. “Cap has a date, that’s all.”

A few moments of silence before a new voice entered the mix. “Steve, you have a date?”

He looked up to see Bruce Banner standing in the archway that led to the kitchen, holding a small plastic bowl and popping a grape into his mouth. Bruce was the newest member of the Avengers and a genius in his own right.

Steve sighed, unhappy that he wasn’t able to keep this to himself for just a few more hours. “Fine, you vultures, yes. I have a date. No, I don’t want to talk about it, and no, Clint, you can’t stop watching him. Not yet, anyway.”

“I’m confused, why are you having Clint stalk your date?” Bruce asked, offering his grapes to the rest of the team. Bucky and Natasha each grabbed a vine for themselves.

He shrugged, leaning back into the cushion and picking up the remote control. “I have this feeling, is all.”

Apparently, that was enough of an explanation for his friends. They all gave “oh’s, and ah’s,” before finally shutting up and settling in to watch television.

Steve let the show run on for about five minutes before he spoke up in his Captain’s voice.

“Clint?”

“Yeah, Cap?” 

“Get your ass back to work.”

A small groan, and Steve felt the weight from the top of the couch disappear. “Yeah, boss.”

XX

Tony practically threw his groceries into their designated places in the pantry and fridge before pulling out his cell phone and starfishing onto the bed. The ringer on the other line only sounded twice before she picked up. “Hello?”

“Pep. Pepper-Pot. Love of my life.”

She sighed, “What do you want, Tony? I’m finishing up a paper.” 

“I need you to throw that laptop out of your second story window, then come over here (bring ice cream) and dish about what the hell just happened.” 

Pepper laughed, a clear, beautiful sound that Tony always loved. “And what the hell just happened? 

He still couldn’t believe it himself. Tony ran a hand over the grin stretched across his face. “I have a _date_. Someone asked _me_ on a date.”

Tony could hear a surprised, “oh,” then the sound of a laptop closing. “That’s wonderful, Tony! I’ll be there in twenty.” The line clicked off, and he wasn’t able to keep from wriggling a little in his bed. So what? No one was around to see it. An adonis of a man, his very own Captain America look alike wanted to go out with him! Former billionaire extraordinaire! Not that Steve knew that, of course.

He hoped that they could avoid the whole “Stark” issue as long as possible. Admitting that his father cut him off was embarrassing enough, but admitting to his ex-army date that his family was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people overseas? That was going to be an impossible conversation if they ever came to it. Tony had no interest in taking up the mantle of “The Merchant of Death,” and hoped to never be associated with it again.

Pepper finally arrived, decked out in sweatpants, a hoodie, and the goofy long Star Wars socks Tony had gotten her for Christmas, with the ice cream in tow. She pulled out two spoons and knocked their shoulders together on the bed. “Okay, tell me everything. I don’t want any detail left out.”

So Tony told her about their two chance meetings, about Steve’s broad shoulders, his thin waist, what Tony guessed he looked like underneath those layers of clothing. “I’m not joking here, Pep. I honest to God believe that he’s got abs of steel. Ones that I wouldn’t hesitate licking this ice cream here off of.”

She rolled her eyes fondly at him, pulling the spoon from her mouth. “He sounds mouthwatering, Tony. Jim will be jealous, I haven’t heard you gush about a guy since you were living together.”

Tony snorted and stole a bite. “Rhodeybear will just have to deal with being bumped down to the number two man in my life for the time being. Serves him right for running off and leaving me."

“He joined the air force, Tony.”

“Exactly! My best friend would rather sweat his balls off in the middle of a desert and eat sardines from a can than live with me!”

They both laughed together when Pepper nearly pushed him off the bed. “Okay, first, your best friend is right here. We competed for the title, and I won since I have to continue dealing with you on a daily basis. Second, Jim will be so excited for you. Do you want to give him a call?” 

Tony’s mood suddenly soured, and he leaned back against the wall. “Nah, I don’t want to mention anything.”

Pepper purses her lips. “And why not?”

He shrugged, and she sighed before setting the ice cream down onto the nightstand and putting her arm around him. Tony snuggled into her touch, like always. “Talk to me.”

Tony was silent for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts. “I mean, I just don’t want to tell him about Steve yet. What happens if he changes his mind? Or doesn’t like me after our date?”

“Why do you think he wouldn’t like you after your date?”

He snorted again, but this time it was more self-degrading than anything. “Is that a trick question? You’ve met me, Pep. You and Rhodey are the only ones who can even stand to be around me. Plus, there’s the whole, I’m completely broke, thing. Oh, and to top it all off, my dad is one of the biggest War Profiteers in the country. Mainly because of _my _designs.”

Pepper held him a little tighter, and he appreciated the comfort. “You are wonderful, Tony. Just the way you are. And if Steve can’t see that, then that’s his loss.” She pulled back to look him in the eye. “Just try to give him a chance, okay? He seems like a really nice guy.” 

Tony took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Thanks Pep.”

XX

When Steve climbed the stairs to Tony’s apartment, he couldn’t say he was in the best mood. He was excited to see Tony again, that much was certain. But Clint reported that a redhead had entered the apartment last night, and he hasn’t seen her leave. Which meant that she was still there.

Who the hell was she? And why was she in Tony’s apartment? Was she a roommate? A girlfriend? A one night stand? The question was killing him.

It didn’t make sense for Steve to be jealous. They hadn’t even gone on their first date yet, he had no claim over Tony. Unfortunately, his gut was telling him differently. For some reason, Tony was _his_. And only his. This redhead couldn’t have him, and he enjoyed fantasizing about ways to clear her out of the picture if it came to that. Also, what kind of person got picked up from their date while their one night stand was still in the vicinity?

He just needed to knock on the damn door already. Just as he raised his knuckles to do just that, the door swung right open, revealing a freshly showered, freshly trimmed, and incredibly handsome Tony. “Hi! I uh, saw you walk up from the window. And then I was waiting for you to knock, but then you didn’t, and I got nervous. People have said that I’m impatient. Uh, yeah. So here we are. Hi.”

Steve blinked, still taking in the sight of his date. The redhead he had been expecting popped around the corner, her hands on Tony’s shoulders as if to calm his nerves. “He’s just a little excited, if you can’t tell.” 

A rush of anger poured over him as she held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Pepper. Tony’s best friend.”

And would you look at that? Anger dissipated. He gave her an easy smile and shook it. “I’m Steve. It’s nice to meet you.”

Tony frowned, looking between them. “Pep, you can’t just go around claiming that title. Now I’m going to have to hear an earful from Rhodey.”

She shrugged happily, giving him a kiss on the cheek and pushing him out the door towards Steve. “He’s not here to defend it, so It’s mine now." 

“It’s nice to meet you Pepper. I’ll have him back by eleven.”

Pepper lit up, clutching her hands together. “Such a gentleman. Please make sure Tony remembers every single detail about your date so that I can live vicariously through him. Have fun!” 

When she closed the door, Steve looked down at Tony and couldn’t stop the grin that automatically appeared. “Hi.” Before he lost his confidence, Steve dropped a kiss on his cheek, directly over Pepper’s. There. All was right in the world.

Tony gave him a sheepish smile, and scratched at the back of his neck. “Hi. So that’s Pepper. She’s a menace hell bent on embarrassing me in front of as many people as possible. I tried to push her out the door before you got here, but she insisted on seeing you in person.”

“I like her,” Steve told him honestly. As long as she wasn’t romantically interested in Tony, he liked the idea of Tony having such great friends.

That earned him another smile, and Steve took his hand, enjoying the way it fit perfectly with his own. “So, where are we going?” 

“I thought we could go to this little pizzeria that I know. And then after I wanted to take you to LA Burdick.”

Tony squeezed his hand and looked up. “That sounds great, Steve.”

And it _was _great. It took approximately ten minutes and thirty-three seconds into their date for Steve to realize that spending time with Tony had quickly become one of his favorite things in the world. Once they moved past the shy, awkward tension of the “first date,” Tony completely opened up. He was brilliantly animated when talking about his life, describing his current projects, what he had his students working on in class, all about his friends Pepper Potts and James Rhodes. Steve filed away every bit of information Tony divulged, along with the tells that he didn’t speak aloud. Like the fact that he liked pepperoni and sausage on his pizza, and picked off the olives. When he was cold, the shiver started in his chest and spread outward, causing him to stuff his hands into his pockets until Steve removed his own coat and put it around his shoulders. His laugh was bright and open, reminding him of the bells Christmas Carollers lugged around. The fact that Tony’s eyes matched the hot chocolate he was currently sipping on.

“So what did you do before you started art school?” he asked, breaking Steve out of his open admiration.

Steve coughed, keeping as close to the truth as possible. That was the trick to lying. “I joined the army right after high school with my best friend Bucky. When we got back, we ran around, getting into trouble with our friends until I decided to move here.”

Tony leaned in, his elbow on the table and a fond expression on his face. Steve’s chest warmed at the knowledge that that look was directed at him. “Bucky has been with me since I was scrawny. I got into a lot of fights as a kid, and couldn’t actually hold my own. He was my muscle until I gained my own. Then he just became my partner in crime.”

His date snorted, covering up his mouth. “I can’t even begin to imagine you skinny. Are you shitting me right now?”

Steve held up his right hand. “Honest to God. You can ask Buck, I was _maybe _one hundred pounds soaking wet.”

“Oh, I will be demanding pictures. This is something I have to see.” Tony laughed and held his mugs between his hands. “Who’s next?”

Steve leaned back in his chair, letting his knees knock against Tony’s underneath the table. The touch sent a rush of heat straight down his spine, and he was pleased when his date didn’t move away. “Well, my friends back home were all in my unit in the army. When I moved here, I met Clint and Natasha. A former circus performer and a ballerina, if you can believe it. Sam is a vet as well, he runs a few groups at the VA. And Thor-”

“Wait, you have a friend named Thor?” Tony asked incredulously, his brow popped.

He shook his head, “Yes, he’s from Norway. Now how the hell do you do that thing with your eyebrows? Nat can do it, and I’ve always wanted to.”

Tony reached over and placed his hand near Steve’s face, pausing just before to silently ask for permission to touch. Steve nodded and leaned forward. Tony’s fingertips brushed against him before pushing his left eyebrow upwards. He chuckled under his breath, which had started to become uneven. “Just like that.” 

Steve swallowed, and watched Tony’s eyes follow the movement. The atmosphere suddenly switched from fun and lighthearted to..._heated_. He didn’t pull his hand away, so Steve grabbed it with his own and intertwined their fingers, pressing a light kiss to his date’s knuckles. “I’ve had a really nice time tonight, Tony. May I take you out again?”

The younger man swiped his tongue across his bottom lip, and dammit if that didn’t go straight to Steve’s cock. “Me too. Tonight’s been...great.” His caramel brown eyes locked with Steve’s again, and the intense moment passed into something sweeter. “Really, really great. I want to see you again.”

Steve turned Tony’s palm over and rested his lips there. “Then you’ll see me again. Tell me about you, Tony. What did you do before you came to MIT?”

Tony stiffened under his touch, and Steve fought the instinct to pull away, wanting Tony to feel comfortable talking to him. “I uh.” His bottom lip was now caught between his teeth, and Steve figured they had just stumbled onto some new territory. “I guess I lived at home. I was supposed to work at our family business after my second degree, but I just…” Tony looked away. “I didn’t want to. My dad didn't like that. He didn’t like a lot of things about me, I guess. He cut me off.”

Steve remembered how Tony had flinched yesterday at the coffee shop when his hand got too close to his face. A flash of white hot fury hit him at the thought of anyone hurting this man. 

_Mine. Mine. Mine. _

Instead of voicing his thoughts and sounding like a complete lunatic, Steve tightened his hold on Tony, providing some level of comfort. “I’m sorry, Tony. You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself, though. You are going to do amazing things one day.”

His date preened a little, accepting the praise. That seemed to raise his spirits, and he moved on from speaking about his past. “When I finish out my last degree, I want to start a new company. There is so much untapped potential when it comes to clean energy.”

“Tell me more,” Steve encouraged. And Tony did. In fact, he didn’t stop talking for another hour and a half, and Steve loved every second of it.

He glanced down at the clock and swore lightly. He began to stand, pulling Tony up with him. “I need to get you home before curfew,” he teased, “I don’t want Pepper to keep you from our next date.”

To his immense pleasure, Tony slotted himself into Steve’s space and wrapped an arm around his waist, maneuvering Steve’s arm up over his shoulder.

_Mine. Mine. Mine. _

“I’d fight to the last tooth and nail with her, but I have the feeling that I would have better luck just trying to climb down the fire escape.”

Steve hummed, enjoying the sudden closeness. He kissed the top of Tony’s hair, tightening his grip on his date’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’d do the fighting for the both of us.”

“You look like you’d be able to hold your own.” There was a wicked gleam in Tony’s eye as he hopped into the passenger seat of the truck, back facing the interior so that his legs hung out of the open door, and Steve smirked at how close to the money Tony was.

Feeling confident, Steve leaned forward, capturing Tony’s mouth with his own and slotting himself in between his legs. It was tentative at first, but Tony’s lips molded to his own immediately, and his hands snakes up and around Steve’s neck and entangled themselves into his hair.

Steve took advantage, pressing himself as close to Tony as space would allow and raking his nails along the back of his jacket. Tony moaned, a guttural sound that sent Steve reeling. Possessiveness blossomed deep within his chest, eliciting a growl of pleasure. He probed Tony’s lips with his tongue, licking his way inside when they opened beautifully for him.

It was...it was, it was _everything_. He was completely surrounded by Tony. His desperate breath hitching right along with Steve’s, his tongue wrestling with his own, his hands clambering over his shoulders, his chest, his stomach... 

It was their first date, and Steve never wanted to take his hands off of him. But that was the problem, wasn’t it?

Through sheer force of will, Steve pulled back and touched his forehead to Tony’s, stilling his hands as they fumbled with Steve’s belt. Tony whined at the loss, mouth chasing after Steve’s. 

They were both panting hard, heavy breaths mixing together through the proximity. “I, uh.” He started, gently caressing Tony’s face, fingertips outlining his trimmed beard and trying to renew the blood flow to his brain. “I need to get you home.” 

Tony stared at him for a few long moments, trying to catch his breath. He finally leaned away and looked down into his lap where his hands were shaking. Steve didn’t hesitate to cover them with his own. “Did...did I do something wrong?”

Steve blinked and cocked his head. “What? Why would think you did anything wrong?”

The younger man chewed on the inside of his cheek, a faint blush rising up the back of his neck. “You...well you stopped. Do, do you not want me?”

Steve captured Tony’s face between his hands, tilting his head up so that he had to look into Steve’s eyes. “That might be the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Tony, _of course_ I want you. But sweetheart, this is only our first date. I want to do this right. So, I’m going to bring you home, walk you to your door, kiss you good night, and then I’ll pick you up for our next date tomorrow.” He kissed Tony again, softly this time. They both hummed at the contact, and Steve’s eyes fluttered. “Does that sound okay?”

Tony nodded slowly, breathing in deeply as if memorizing the smell of Steve around him. Finally, he swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat. “Uh, yeah. I think I can handle that.”

“I do want you, Tony.” Steve implored.

The younger man smiled sweetly. “Then you’ll have me.”

XX

When Tony slipped through the door after an incredibly long and mind blowingly _hot _goodbye makeout session with Steve (holy heaven on EARTH than man knows how to use his tongue), he slumped against the frame and sighed in complete and utter bliss.

Pepper scurried around the corner, socks slipping on the hardwood floors. “Tony!” She had an open bottle of wine in her hands and a brilliant smile on her face. “How did it go? Tell me literally everything. Are you going to see each other again? Was he nice? Did you kiss him? Please tell me you kissed him!”

Tony cut off her twenty-questions by ramming into her full force with a hug, careful not to spill any of the wine. “Pep...I’m in love. He’s perfect. And he likes me. And he’s perfect.”

She laughed brightly, tugging him over towards the couch. “So it went well?”

He exaggerated a groan and rested his head atop her lap. “So well, Pep. He’s picking me up after class tomorrow.”

“I’m so happy for you, Tony!” She reached down and pressed a light kiss to his temple. “Now can we call Jim?”

Tony rubbed both hands over his face, not the least bit surprised to find a smile still there. “Yeah, now we can call Rhodey.”

XX

Steve was still sitting in his truck outside of Tony’s apartment when his phone went off. Without taking his eyes off of the building, he answered. “What is it, Nat?”

“If you’re finished with your date, we could use you down here. We’re at the warehouse. Barnes brought in three more members of Hydra.” 

His jaw locked immediately, and Steve put the truck in drive. “I’m on my way.” 

Thirty minutes later, he had his arms crossed over his chest while watching Natasha in her Black Widow mask interrogate the three Hydra members from behind the two-way mirror. Bucky huffed by his side. “Found ‘em staking out the Weapons Depot on Fifth. Haven’t gotten them to spill anything yet. Nat extracted a cyanide tooth from two of the fuckers. Looks like the third is too green for something like that.”

“If they’re in need of weapons, then they must not be very high off the ground yet.”

“Good thing too,” Bucky agreed, scratching at his stubble. “They must just be focusing on increasing their numbers for now.”

Steve watched Natasha prowl in front of the three younger men. Their eyes were wide and terrified. They must have heard rumors about the Black Widow. Good. Maybe the Avengers’ reputation was climbing quicker than he thought.

“We need to make an example out of them.” Steve decided. “Whoever is digging them out of their grave needs to know that The Avengers will stop them. This is our territory now.”

He looked over to see Bucky smirking knowingly at him. “I bet Tony would love to hear your “Captain” voice." 

If possible, Steve’s mood darkened further. “Tony isn’t a part of this, Buck. I don’t want him anywhere near Avengers business.”

“Really?” Bruce asked, stepping through the steel doors. “I thought Tony was smart. Do you not think he would make a good addition to the team?” 

He shook his head, flexing his hands by his sides. “Tony is...good. I want him to stay out of this.” And he did. Tony was incredible. A light. _Steve’s _light. He was too innocent to be mixed up with Steve’s gang. His business was dirty, and he wanted to keep Tony as clean as possible. 

“We do good here, Stevie.” Bucky implored, jutting his chin towards the men in the room. “We keep the streets clean, tear down any drug operations, put down any fuckers who try to mess with our people. The Avengers keep people safe.” 

“I know, Buck.” Steve sighed, not knowing how to explain this to his friends. “Tony’s got plans for after he graduates. Big plans. He’s going to change the world, I know it. He doesn’t need to get caught up with the mafia on the way there. So no, I’m not going to recruit him, and I don’t want to hear about this again.”

The silence in the room was enough of an answer for him. Steve nodded towards Bucky and turned on Natasha’s comm unit. “Nat, fall back. It’s the Winter Soldier’s turn. I want them to know exactly who they are dealing with.”

Bucky shrugged off his jacket so that his metal arm wasn’t covered, then attached his facemask. It completely obscured his identity, but revealed him as the same man from New York. The Captain’s attack dog.

The moment he stepped inside the room, Steve watched the two seasoned Hydra members blanch. The blood drained from their faces, and they immediately began squirming in their seat. The third, the one that was too green for a cyanide pill, looked confused at his buddies’ reactions. Steve clicked on the intercom, puffing out his chest and using his best “Captain” voice.

“Hydra believes they can crawl out of their long buried grave and rise up in Boston. They are wrong. The Captain knows all, and sees all. You won’t give up your superiors, I know your kind too well. But you can pass along a message for me. Tell your boss that the same Captain who ended the Red Skull’s life with his bare hands will do the same to you. Hydra thinks they can regain strength? Regain numbers? They are wrong.”

The three men were practically vibrating in fear in their seats, but Steve wasn’t finished yet.

“Soldier.” He called, and Bucky tilted his head to acknowledge that he was listening. “How many men does it take to deliver a message?”

The Winter Soldier flexed his metal arm, letting the light from the fluorescent lamp gleam off of it. “One.”

XX

“Tony.”

“Rhodey.” 

An amused grunt sounded on the other line. “_Tony_. I’m being serious here!”

“Me too! I don’t see any problem with this.” Tony bit his bottom lip and willed for Rhodey to see reason.

But, alas, he just wouldn’t give it up. “You have to tell the man your damn name. You’ve been going out for what, four months now? He’s your boyfriend. You _lied _to your _boyfriend_.” 

“Nu uh!” Tony protested, desperately trying to ignore the sinking guilt in his stomach. “It wasn’t technically a lie when I told him my last name was Carbonell. That was my mother’s name. The only time I used ‘Stark’ is when I enrolled into the University.”

“Tones. Man, you’re my best friend, but you can be a total pain in the ass, you know that, right?” Before Tony could make one of the sexual jokes stored up in his piggy bank, Rhodey cut him off with a growl. “And if you say _one _word about Steve being a pain in your ass, I will fly back to Boston and dump you into a cold shower.” 

The genius pouted, “Fine, but as long as the message got across, I still win.”

“Tell the man the damn truth, Tones. You’ll be fine. He still likes you after all this time, right? I can’t imagine that your family history will be that much of a red flag.” 

Tony sighed dramatically, hating that he could see the logic in Rhodey’s words. “Fine, you win. I’ll tell him the truth on our date tomorrow.”

He could practically hear the other man grinning and patting himself on the back on the other line. “That’s my boy. Now outside of the whole ‘Steve is the center of my universe’ thing you’ve got going on, how’s everything else?”

At that, Tony squirmed a little on the couch. He shouldn’t mention anything. It was nothing. “I, uh, nothing. Everything’s fine.”

Rhodey paused. “Why did that sound like a total bullshit answer? What else is going on?”

Tony shrugged, then remembered it wasn’t a video call. “Nothing’s going on, like I said, everything’s fine. I’m just being paranoid.”

“Paranoid? Explain.”

“Fine…” Tony turned on his side to watch Dum-E and U play tug-of-war with a dog’s rope he got from the grocery store. “I just, I don’t know. I have this feeling like...someone’s watching me, or something.”

Rhodey didn’t reply for a few long moments, and Tony went right back to squirming uncomfortably. “Do you think it’s your dad? Or Stane?” 

He appreciated that one of his best friends had his back, despite how crazy it all sounded. “I don’t know. I mean they could be watching, waiting for me to screw up so that they can convince me to come back to SI, but I don’t know. My neck prickles uncomfortably like, all the time now. Even with I’m with Steve.” 

“If it is your dad, would he do anything if he knew about Steve?”

Tony’s brow furrowed, and the churning in his stomach grew into an uncomfortable pit. “Maybe. No. I don’t know. He _hated_ that I was gay, ya know? It gave him another reason for cutting me off. I honestly don't know if there is anything else he could do at this point.”

A faint cracking sounded on the other line, and Rhodey muttered under his breath. “Well, just be careful, alright Tones? Pepper told me about how one of the New York gangs showed up there in Boston.”

“Yeah,” he frowned. When the papers reported Hydra had taken credit for a recent bombing, he hadn’t wanted to believe it. Especially considering that the gang had somehow gotten hold of SI weapons when they were back in New York. “Hydra’s back, and I’ve been hearing a few rumors that they’re in a gang war with this group called the Avengers.” It was times like these when he missed the Captain and his Commandos. Tony had practically worshiped them when he still lived in Manhattan.

“Stay out of that mess, okay? I need you safe while I’m over here.”

Tony couldn’t help but grin, always happy to hear that he actually meant something to someone. It wasn’t that he necessary _needed_ for people to reconfirm his worth, but it would be a lie to say that it wasn’t fantastic for his ego. “I’m staying out of it, Rhodeybear, I promise. Besides, Steve is big enough to protect us both if any sort of shit like New York goes down.”

Rhodey gave a hearty laugh at that. “That’s what I like to hear. I’ve gotta go, but stay out of trouble. Love you Tones.”

“Love you too. Stay safe.”

XX

When Steve knocked on the door the very next night, Tony was in the middle of mussying up his hair on accident. He wasn’t nervous. He _wasn’t_. Steve would be okay with his last name...right? 

Oh sweet lord, he hoped so. Steve had come to mean _everything_ to Tony over the past few months. They hadn’t said the words yet, but Tony didn’t doubt that Steve loved him. The older man showed him that he did every day, in the way that he treated Tony, in the way that he handled him like he was something precious. 

Tony was terrified of losing him.

He answered the door, and was immediately met with Steve’s lips on his. Tony gasped at the intrusion, but was quick to melt into the kiss. This was how it always was with them, straight heat and fireworks sizzling at every inch of where their bodies connected. He wasn’t sure how he had survived this long without this. Without Steve. After a few more seconds, Steve caressed the spot where his hands were cupping Tony’s face and he pulled back. “Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good day?” 

Tony hummed, drawing out of his lust-filled haze like he was sixteen years old again. “Yeah, missed you though.”

Steve smirked, kissing him chastely on the lips again. “I’m right here. I missed you too, Mr. Carbonell.”

When Tony stiffened, Steve’s brow furrowed as he stepped away, immediately putting his hands to his side. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

Tony groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, waving towards Steve dismissively. “No, no. I just…” He moved back into his apartment, beckoning Steve to follow. “I need to talk to you about something. Can you come in?”

Steve nodded warily, automatically on guard with his back as straight as a board. He got like that sometimes, when the mood changed or when he felt like Tony might be in trouble. Steve would draw up to his full height, posing quite the intimidating figure that practically screamed ‘_Do not fuck with me_,’ and slot Tony behind him, scanning the room or area for potential threats.

“At ease, soldier,” Tony told him seriously, because it always seemed to work wonders. Immediately, some of the tension left Steve’s shoulders, but he his jaw was still tight. “I’m sorry to ruin any plans you might have had, but it’s important.” He gestured towards the couch. “Come on, sit down.” 

His (utterly hot) mountain of a boyfriend practically took up the entire couch when he laid out his arms along the back, so Tony made himself comfortable on the armrest in case Steve wanted to punch him after this. 

Steve apparently didn’t like that, because he frowned. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” At the disbelieving look, Tony repeated himself. “I’m fine, Steve. I promise. We just need to talk about a few things.” 

“Famous last words…” his boyfriend pouted, sinking further into the couch.

Tony startled at that, eyes going wide. “What? No!” he shook his head, “I’m not breaking up with you! But you might not want anything to do with me after I say what I have to...” 

Steve scooted closer to him on the couch and took one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. “Just talk to me, sweetheart.”

He nodded, working himself up to it. “Right, okay. So when you got here, you, uh, you called me something. Mr., uh, Carbonell.”

Steve cocked his head in confusion, “Yeah...because that’s your name.” He said slowly. 

Tony gave him a sheepish smile. “Well, in some sense of the word, you are right. But in another, much more realistic sense, you’re wrong. My last name isn’t Carbonell.” 

He could feel the moment went Steve’s defenses shot up. His boyfriend bristled underneath his touch, but he didn’t move away, so Tony counted that as a win. “I think you should explain. Now.”

“Carbonell was my mother’s maiden name.” Tony licked his lips, working himself up for it. “My last name is actually Stark.”

Steve didn’t move for a long few seconds, and Tony could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he put all the pieces together. “You’re Anthony, _Tony_, Stark. Of Stark Industries. Your father cut you off a few years ago because you didn’t want to come work for the family business…” His crystal blue eyes snapped up to Tony’s. “Because you didn’t want to make weapons.”

“Got it in one.” Tony breathed, happy to finally have it all out there. “I started at MIT when I was fifteen. Once I got my undergraduate degree, then my masters, my dad and Obie, Obadiah Stane, tried to get me to come back.” He swallowed past the lump in his throat that always appeared when he talked about this. “But I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to become the Merchant of Death. I had seen how many people were killed from my earlier designs, which were taken without my permission, by the way, and I didn’t want to add to the tally count.”

He let out a self deprecating laugh and ran his free hand over his face. “It didn’t help that he caught me with a guy when he came here to try and talk some sense to me. He had suspected I was gay before that, but I guess it’s different when the evidence is right in front of your face.” A shiver ran down his spine as he fought to keep from touching the scars that Howard’s rings had left. “He basically told me that if I didn’t get my ass out of Boston and stop all of this shit, then I would never see another penny from him.”

“So you told him where he could shove it, and your dad cut you off.” Steve finished for him.

Tony sighed and nodded, suddenly exhausted. Steve moved closer, wrapping his arms around Tony’s waist and pulling him squarely into his lap so that they were chest to chest and Tony’s legs bracketed Steve’s hips. He cupped the younger man’s face between his big hands and pressed a deep, long, lingering kiss there before pulling back and resting their foreheads together. Tony breathed in Steve’s sweet, soft pants.

“Thank you for telling me. But Tony, none of this changes how I feel about you. If anything, it helps me understand you better.” He kissed his left cheek, “You’re still a genius,” a kiss on the right cheek, “that’s going to make the world a better place with clean energy,” and a final kiss back onto his trembling lips. “And you’re mine.” 

Tony’s arms snaked around Steve’s neck and held him tight, fingers slotting themselves between Steve’s fine blonde hair. “I love you.” Without pausing to take a breath to think about what he was saying, he continued. “Dammit, _I love you_, Steve. You’re perfect. You’re a good man. You take care of me. You don’t care about my shitty family and my crappy past, and you don’t mind that I’m dirt poor and have been in school for like, five and a half years now and -”

Steve cut him off with a searing kiss, plundering his tongue into Tony’s mouth and grinding Tony’s hips down onto his mounting erection. “Oh fuck, Tony, I love you too. I love you so much, sweetheart.”

And then they were both suddenly too caught up in the movement of their bodies together to say much else. He writhed on top of Steve, movements erratic and desperate. Steve, the real genius in this relationship, got control of his hands for a moment to reach under to grab handfuls of Tony’s ass and lift them up in one fluid motion. Tony squeaked and wrapped his legs around Steve’s waist, clinging to him without pausing his assault on his boyfriend’s neck. The mixture of lemon-scented soap and the faint hint of sweat swirled around Tony’s tongue, and he nipped a harsh bruise with his teeth, marking Steve as his own.

The guttural moan Steve let out had Tony trembling in his arms, hands clawing desperately at his back. When they reached the bed, Steve unlatched from Tony for only a few moments to reach up and pull Tony’s sweater off of him before moving to make quick work of his pants. Thankfully, Steve didn’t seem to be in any mood for a tease, because he stripped just as quickly. The moment skin met skin, they both hissed in heated pleasure.

Tony hauled Steve up to capture his mouth again, aligning their bodies perfectly so that they arched against each other. Their tongues danced together, each memorizing the feeling of the other, and dammit Tony could have come right then in there. Steve pulled back, propping himself onto his elbows over Tony. “I do love you, Tony. You mean...everything to me. I want to keep you safe. I want you. _I want you_.”

“You have me. Always.”

Their mouths met again, and this time they didn’t come up for air for a few more hours.

XX

The next morning, Tony blinked slowly from where his head was resting atop Steve’s perfectly sculpted chest. This is what heaven must be like, Tony mused. To be so wrapped up in the person you love that the rest of the world just falls away, leaving the two of you basking in heat and pleasure. He hummed when Steve’s fingers carded their way through Tony’s hair, and he buried his face closer to his boyfriend.

“Tony?” Steve’s voice was rough, most likely from the weight of the cock that had taken up temporary residence in his throat earlier that night.

“Mhhmmm?” Tony was too wrung out to respond with actual words. Every muscle in his body was sated and fully relaxed. Steve’s other hand came down to draw patterns along his back, side, and stomach. Over the past four months, Steve really had taken care of Tony. His ribs were no longer visible, his skin had returned to it’s natural healthy olive tone, and his underlying muscles had found their way back to just beneath the surface. 

The fingers in his hair dug a little into his scalp, and Tony moaned in satisfaction. “Thank you for telling me the truth. I can’t imagine that it was easy for you.”

Tony nodded his head up and down, letting his thin goatee scrape against Steve’s sensitive skin, causing the older man to let out a hiss. He furrowed his brow as a familiar prickle started traveling along the back of his neck. 

“It really means a lot that you would trust me with that. Because, well, there’s something I need to talk to you about too. Something I’ve been meaning to tell you-”

But Tony wasn’t listening. Instead, he pushed himself up so that he was sitting, rubbing a hand across his neck to try and chase away the feeling. “Do you feel that?”

Steve’s brow furrowed, and he sat up so that his back was leaning against the wall. He ran his nails softly along Tony’s back. “Feel what, sweetheart?”

Tony was becoming more and more agitated. The tingling was uncomfortable now, and he couldn’t stop himself from craning his neck to look around the room. “Like...like someone is watching us.”

Quicker than he could comprehend, a large hand snaked across Tony’s waist and hauled him back towards Steve’s chest before lifting the comforter so that it was covering them both. Tony squirmed a little, but to no avail. There was no escaping his boyfriend’s grip, which was incredibly hot and he filed that information away for later, but the mood had soured. “Steve, forget it. I’m just being paranoid.”

“How long have you felt like this, Tony?” He asked quietly, as if afraid someone might be listening in. Which was completely ridiculous...wasn’t it? Howard and Obie couldn’t actually be watching him, much less be listening in on him. They didn’t care about him enough to do something so outlandish. 

“I…” he thought back, a little confused at how protective Steve was being right now. “It’s nothing, really. It’s stupid.”

In one single movement, Steve had rolling them over so that they were chest to chest with Steve lying on top of Tony. His entire body was coiled tight, every muscle locked as he stared down at Tony. “I need you to tell me how long you’ve been feeling like someone’s been watching you, sweetheart. It’s important.” 

He had no idea why the hell this was so important to Steve, but he didn’t dare try to argue again. This was a man on a mission. “I don’t know, a few months now? It started around January. But it wasn’t...I don’t know. I didn’t start feeling _this _way, nervous, maybe? Scared? No, that’s not the right word. Anyway, I didn’t start feeling like _this _until last month.” 

And then Steve was moving. He rolled off of Tony and out of bed, quickly shucking on underwear and throwing Tony’s clothes at him so that he could do the same. “Get dressed.”

“What? Why?” Tony asked, completely thrown off by Steve’s sudden change in demeanor. He threw on his jeans before stuffing his feet into the boots that were strewn across the room. Tony couldn’t put a finger on exactly what had changed. But this Steve was more...army-like? Commanding? If Tony was anyone else, he would have followed along blindly. “Where the hell are you going?”

Once Steve got on his button up, he pulled Tony’s backpack from the closet and started throwing clothes into it. “We are going back to my place.”

“Hey!” He protested as Steve emptied his underwear drawer into the bag. Tony grunted in annoyance and started dressing quickly as well. “You’ve never taken me to your place before! Why are we all of a sudden running there now?”

Apparently once Steve was satisfied that he had piled enough clothes into the bag, he moved into the bathroom to grab the toiletries. “Steve!”

Tony cornered him inside the bathroom as Steve grabbed the razor from the shower. “Tell me what the hell is going on!”

His boyfriend drew up to his full height, hiked the bag up over his shoulder and advanced on Tony. Steve placed both hands on Tony’s shoulders and gripped them tight. “There’s a lot I need to explain to you, and I will, I promise. But right now, I need to get you back to my place where there are more people there that can protect you.”

“Protect me? Steve, I’m fine!” Tony shook his head, throwing Steve’s hands off of him as he stepped back into the bedroom. “Is this about me thinking someone is watching me? It’s stupid! I’m just being paranoid!”

“Your not just being paranoid!” Steve snapped in a way that had Tony reeling. Steve had never even raised his voice at him before. “I’m trying to protect you, Tony, so I need you to listen to me very carefully.” He must have taken in the hurt expression on Tony’s face, because the hard lines marring his handsome features softened and he stepped forward and cupped his cheeks. “Sweetheart, I love you. I’m asking you to trust me right now, okay? Please, put on your shoes, follow me out to my truck, and I’ll take you back to my place. You’ll finally get to meet my friends. You’ve been wanting to do that, right?”

If Tony had been confused before, he was absolutely floored now. He had a million and one questions running through his mind, not the least of which was ‘_What the hell is going on_?’ He wanted to know why they were going to meet Steve’s friends now, when Tony had practically been begging to meet them for the past few months. And why did he have to pack almost everything Tony owned, like he would be gone for a while?

But he stayed quiet instead. Tony simply nodded, eyes narrowing at Steve as he put on his shoes, just like Steve asked. Tony was a genius, and he was smart enough to know that Steve was hiding something, and if he pressed now, Tony wouldn’t get anything out of him. No, he would bide his time. Take in all the information and variables, then gather enough evidence to shove it back into Steve’s face so that he would be forced to answer his questions.

When he complied, Steve gave him a little smile that Tony didn’t reciprocate, then a swift kiss on the cheek. He then took his hand and led him out of the apartment, watching carefully as Tony locked up, then ushered him into the truck. The air between them was taunt and sharp, such a monumental contrast from how it had been last night. Neither of them spoke, and Tony crossed his arms protectively over his chest and leaned against the window. He had no fucking clue what had gotten into Steve, but he didn’t like it. This version of his boyfriend was...cold. Commanding. Tony wasn’t insecure enough to think that Steve’s feelings for him had changed, but he began to suspect that he didn’t quite know everything there was to know about Steve Rogers.

Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to a decent sized condo and Steve shouldered Tony’s overflowing backpack again before taking his hand. Tony wanted to rip it away and demand that Steve explain what the hell they were doing here, but it would be like talking to a brick wall.

As Steve led him through the door, Tony tried to take in his surroundings and picture Steve living here. It was...not what he expected. There aren’t any pictures on the walls, or anything personal whatsoever to suggest that not one, but three people lived here. A few months ago Steve had told him that he, Bucky, and Sam all lived together, while the rest of his friends all had their own places. They used this place as a “home base” of sorts, though, so a full house was fairly common. As frustrated and annoyed as Tony was, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit of trepidation. He was finally getting to meet his boyfriend’s friends. What if they didn’t like him?

When they entered the living room, everyone was already there, and by the looks of it, they had not been expecting to see Tony with Steve. Five pizza boxes were strewn about, everyone pausing mid-bite to look at him with wide eyes.

The man with mocha colored skin clicked off the television and turned to face them with his hands on his hips. They were all silent as they watched Steve and Tony, and Tony had to force down the desire to hide behind his mountain of a boyfriend.

Finally, Steve broke the tense silence. “Guys, this is Tony.”

All at once, they all sprung out of their chairs and hurried over, completely surrounding Tony. They all introduced themselves, even though Tony could have picked them all out just by how often Steve talked about them. Bucky, Sam, Natasha, Clint, and Bruce all shook his hand and greeted him enthusiastically. Apparently Thor was back in Norway dealing with some drama with his brother. The only thing that seemed out of place was Bucky’s metal arm. Steve told him that he had lost it during a raid back in Afghanistan, and that he was having problems with his prosthetic. But that arm...it _wasn’t _a prosthetic, at least not one that was currently on the market.

In hindsight, that little piece of information should have made the bigger picture clearer, but he was too caught up in the fact that his mouth was watering at the idea of getting in there to check out the wiring.

Once the introductions were out of the way, Steve steered him to the couch and pushed his shoulders so that Tony had no choice but to sit. Everyone else remained standing though, and Tony finally couldn’t bite down his frustration anymore.  
  
“Not that it isn’t really great to finally meet you guys, but…” He turned to Steve, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on now?”

At least everyone else looked surprised too, they obviously didn’t seem to know what was happening either. Steve crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his shoulders. “Soon, I promise. Right now, though, I need to talk to Clint, Natasha, and Bucky. Sam, Bruce, you stay here with Tony.”

That earned him a round of protests and questions from almost everyone in the room, but Steve wasn’t having any of it. Suddenly he was using this voice that Tony had only heard a sample of back at the apartment. “This is not a _request_. Clint, Nat, Buck, come with me to the warehouse.” He locked onto Sam and Bruce. “You two are going to stay here and watch Tony.”

Everyone was silent, not daring to argue with Steve. But this was Tony, and he wasn’t fucking scared of his boyfriend. He _wasn’t_. All of his confusion and anger boiled down to a point, and he suddenly wasn’t worried about biding his time anymore. He pushed off from the couch, throwing his hands into the air. “What the _fuck_, Steve?” If he hadn’t been so blindingly frustrated, he might have seen the way the others stiffened as Tony advanced on their friend. “I don’t need a fucking babysitter. I need you to tell me why you dragged my ass halfway across town for me to just sit here while you go off and do God knows what with your friends!”

Steve didn’t so much as glance at the others, choosing rather to direct all of his attention onto Tony. Under normal circumstances, that heated gaze would have shot right down to his cock, but this was different. Tony was challenging Steve in a way he hadn’t before.

“I need you to trust me for just a bit longer, Tony. Please.”

Well, fuck. Steve could have said literally anything else and Tony would have clawed at his throat, demanding an explanation. But no, Steve was asking Tony to _trust _him. The man he _loved_. And he said _please_. If Steve thought this was important, then it was important. They stared each other down for a few more tense moments before Tony let out a breath and nodded warily.

Steve didn’t hesitate to step into his space and wrap his arms around Tony, kissing his hair gratefully. “Thank you, sweetheart. When I get back, we’ll talk, okay? I promise.”

Tony nodded again, then flopped back down onto the couch and watched Steve and his friends walk out the door. When the lock clicked, Sam and Bruce stood in the living room awkwardly while Tony pouted.  
  
“I wouldn’t suppose that either of you know what’s happening?” he asked, stretching out along the leather and getting comfortable. Might as well. 

Bruce touched his glasses anxiously and shook his head. “Not at the moment, no. But I’m sure Steve will be able to explain when he gets home.”

Sam nodded, switching back on the television and picking up his abandoned pizza. “We were just watching ‘Return of the Jedi.’ You in?”

Tony grinned and sorted through the unopened box, picking up a piece with pepperoni on it. “I’m in.”

XX

The moment they entered the warehouse, Bucky grabbed Steve’s shoulder and spun him around. “Alright, what just happened back there? I thought you wanted to keep Tony away from us a little while longer.”

Sometime during the drive over, he had completely shifted over into “The Captain” persona, and he wrenched out of Bucky’s touch, skin still crawling at the distance between him and Tony. The moment that Tony had mentioned the feeling of someone watching him, he knew something was wrong. Tony was a genius and surprisingly intuitive. If he didn’t feel safe for any reason whatsoever, then he wasn’t fucking safe. Steve ignored his right hand man for a moment and directed his attention at Clint. “Hawkeye, give me your report on when I asked you to observe Tony.”

Clint’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he must have sensed the importance of the question. “I only tailed him for a week, Cap. I tracked his movements, kept an eye out for who he talked to, and memorized his routine. Tony Carbonell attends his doctoral classes twice a week for three hours, teaches an undergrad course on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at eleven a.m., and spends any free time he has either at his apartment or in the University’s engineering lab. The only people he was in contact with during that week were Virgina Potts, an associate, Peter Parker, a student he’s tutoring, and you, Boss.”

Steve nodded, confirming that Clint hadn’t left anything out of his initial report. “And you haven’t been following him after I ordered you stand down? You haven’t been watching him since we started dating?”

“What?” Clint asked, obviously frustrated now. “No! You gave me an order to stop, and I followed it.”

“What’s this about, Captain?” Natasha stepped forward with a perfectly popped brow.

Steve scowled, turning his back on them and walking back towards the office. He didn’t want to be out in the open while they talked about Tony. His Tony. That someone was _watching_. _Fuck_. They all followed, and Bucky shut the door behind them. “Someone’s been stalking Tony. He told me that he could feel someone watching him while we were in bed together this morning.” 

It seems that this was news to them. “Wait, someone other than Clint?”

The archer raised his hands in defense, “Woah, woah. I only watched him for that week you asked me to, Cap. I swear. I have no interest in seeing what happens when you two turn off the lights.”

Steve’s fingers tightened into fist, and he was barely fighting the urge to send it flying through a wall. Someone had seen him and Tony _together_. If they were watching the genius, then it would be ridiculous to assume they had any sort of moral boundaries when it came to turning a blind eye to their activities in the bedroom. “I believe you, Hawkeye. I need to know who is watching Tony, and why.”

“Can you give us any leads?” Natasha asked, strictly business now.

He nodded, sucking in a harsh breath. Tony wouldn’t appreciate Steve spilling his secret, but his safety was more important that trust right now. “Yeah. He told me last night that Carbonell isn’t his real name.”

It was Clint’s turn to scowl. “What the hell does that mean? It’s what’s on his Driver’s License. It’s the name his apartment is listed under.”

Steve shook his head, “His last name is Stark.”

Bucky cursed loudly. “Are you telling me that your boyfriend is _Anthony Stark_? The sole heir to Stark Industries? The same weapons manufacturer that secretly deals to terrorists? Like the ones that blew my _goddamn arm off_?” His voice mounted higher and higher as he spit out every question. 

“Tony had nothing to do with that!” Steve snapped. If Bucky thought Tony was involved in the attack that took his arm, he would have to physically restrain his best friend from going after Tony.

“How do you know that, Stevie? He could be one of them!” Bucky shot back, equally irritated.

Steve picked up a piece of pottery off the top of his desk and flung it towards the wall, anger not the least bit satisfied as it shattered into fifty pieces. “Because he’s been on his own since he was seventeen years old! His father disowned him three years ago because Tony didn’t want to make weapons.” His breath was coming in harsh pants now. “Tony _isn’t _his family, and we aren’t going to hold his past behind him, you hear me? Now, I want you to give me a list of people who would want to hurt Tony Stark, and I want you to do it now!”

The three members of his team watched him silently, eyes locked onto his own blue ones. He willed for them to understand how important this is to him. How important Tony is. 

“He’s _mine _to protect, and right now I _know _he’s in danger.” He swallowed and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “I have this feeling, guys. He’s mine, and he’s in trouble.” 

That finally broke the tension, and Bucky slapped a hand across his shoulder. “If he’s important to you, then he’s important to us. We’ve got this, Stevie.”

“Thanks, Buck.”

XX

When the movie ended, Sam had passed out on the loveseat, mouth open with a line of drool hanging off his lips.

“You better close that for him before he starts catching flies,” Tony muttered, only half joking. It had been a whole hour and Steve wasn’t back yet. He looked down at his watch and frowned. He planned to spend the day in the University's lab working on his final project. Steve was supposed to bring him lunch and maybe finish up some of his landscaping homework there.

He eyed Bruce, who was typing away at his tablet. “Say, do you have any idea when they’re supposed to be back?” Tony asked innocently.

Bruce shook his head and gave him a nervous smile. “Nope, it could be a few hours, I’m sorry. They usually spend the entire day at the warehouse.”

Tony frowned, sitting up and pulling his laptop out of the backpack stuffed with clothes. “That’s not going to work for me.” He thought through a few possible scenarios, and gave Bruce his best, Tony Stark smile. “Steve asked you to watch me, right?”

The older man nodded warily.

“Well, I have a project I’m working on, Steve knows all about it. If I don’t finish, then I don’t pass the course, and I don’t get my doctorate. I was supposed to be in the lab all afternoon, but then he basically kidnapped me and is holding me for ransom here…”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, clearly not impressed. “If you have a point, Tony, I suggest you get to it.” 

“Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine, Bruciebear?” He mused with a smirk. “Anyway, I’m suggesting that we move this hostage party to my lab. You can still watch me from there, Steve was going to spend the day with me and work on his own stuff anyway. You can too. This way, we can both actually be productive, and Steve won’t mind the change of venue.”

“I don’t know, Tony…” He started, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Steve seemed really worried. If he thinks you’ll be safe here, then I don’t think we should leave.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “He wanted me here because you guys are here. He thinks I’m safe with _you_, right? He’s been to the lab with me about a million times, so we know that’s safe. Come on, shove Sam awake and help me not fail out of school? Please?”

That earned him a snort, “From what Steve tells us about you, that would be next to impossible.” 

“True...but what do you say?”

Bruce studied the genius for a few tense moments before shrugging. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Just text him and tell him where we’re going, and let him know that Sam and I will be with you.”

“Excellent.” Tony beamed, pulling out his phone. He pretended to type out a message, but ended up leaving it blank. If Steve wouldn’t tell him what was going on, then Tony wouldn’t tell him where he was going. He was a petty asshole like that. Whatever, Steve knew what he was getting into when they started dating. Tony didn’t think that Steve had really prepared him for the same sentiment to go the other way around, though. 

Sam had grumbled at the change of venue all the way to the car, but Tony distracted him by asking about his time in the military. Bruce’s small Honda Civic was crammed with notes and paperwork, and Tony made a note to ask about the doctor’s research later, but the three of them fit in with only a little maneuvering. He gave Bruce directions to the lab and leaned forward on Sam’s passenger seat to hear a few stories that he couldn’t tell if they were elaborated or not.

Tony pulled out his phone again to give it a quick peek. If Steve returned to the house and didn’t find them there, then surely he would call right? The pit in his stomach that had only grown since this morning was aching now, and he wasn’t sure what kind of explanation would be enough to fill it. He loved Steve, and Tony trusted him. But this was...this was just nuts. 

He would just go to the lab and work there. It would help take his mind off of all of the bullshit that happened today. Bruce and Sam would find something in there to keep them busy, and then Steve would call, tell him to come home, and they would talk it out. Maybe have crazy hot make-up sex.

Or at least, that’s what would have happened if the truck hadn’t T-boned them going sixty miles an hour.

XX

A bright light was suddenly thrust too close to his face, and Tony groaned, trying to claw his way back to the sweet expanse of darkness. _Everything _hurt, and he wasn’t ready to wake up yet. The light persisted. Why was Steve trying to wake him up? Didn’t he know that Tony was exhausted?

Indecipherable voices sounded in the background, and he wanted to tell them to shut up and go away. Who was talking anyway? Had he fallen asleep on someone else’s couch?

Tony jerked when one of the voices called out right next to his ear, the movement causing bursts of pain to flash behind his eyelids. “It’s time to wake up, Mr. Stark.”

And then it all came back to him. Tony telling Steve the truth about his name, their night together, Steve’s strange behavior the next morning, the car…

Oh _fuck_. _The car. _

They had only been ten minutes away from campus when the truck slammed into them, flipping the car three a total of times until it landed on its roof. Tony remembered coming to upside down, sobs escaping his throat as he frantically called out for help. Oh God, he had been so scared. Everything hurt. He couldn’t breathe. Bruce was completely unconscious...or, or _dead_, and Sam was coughing up blood as he tried to undo his seatbelt, calling out to both Tony and Bruce. God, Tony’s chest hurt so bad. It was like he was on fucking _fire_. 

He distantly remembers seeing people hop out of the truck, their feet taking their sweet time as they walked over to help. Tony’s voice was hoarse as he screamed, fumbling hard with his own seat belt as he took stock of his injuries. Glass had left horrendous cuts down his forearm, the skin and blood showing straight through the fabric of his clothes. But his chest. His chest. Shards of glasses were embedded near his sternum, and Tony choked on his screams, choked on the blood. It was _everywhere_. He probably also had a concussion from where his head slammed against Sam’s seat during the impact. The feet outside moved closer, and he was able to rasp out, “Help! _Please_!” He begged, “Get us out!” 

The back door was ripped off its loosened hinges, and two sets of gloved hands cut off his seatbelt and hauled him out of the car none too carefully. He remembers them being much rougher than they probably should have been, and his legs had given out on him when they jostled his chest wound. But they kept dragging him away, and they _weren’t _helping Sam and Bruce. He struggled weakly, trying to pry himself away from their tight grips. “Wait, no! My friends...they need help!”

Sam had called for him, shouting his name and he fought to get the seat belt off where it had him trapped. But nobody stopped, they just kept dragging him to the truck. The second he screamed for help, screamed for _Steve_, something connected with the back of his head and all he saw was black.

His eyes snapped open, and he winced at the light. Then winced again as his body throbbed in a deep rooted ache. Tony tried swallowing, but found that his mouth was dry and caked with the taste of metal. Of blood.

“There we go, look at how well you listen.” The balding man with a German accent moved into his field of vision, and Tony automatically leaned away. He was tall enough to appear menacing, and the single eyepiece certainly didn’t do him any favors. He grinned at Tony, but there was no warmth in it. “They told me you would be difficult, but that’s not true, is it?”

Tony tried to take in his surroundings, but it was hard to focus on anything that wasn’t the man in front of him, the harsh pain in his chest, and that damn light. Why couldn’t they just turn it down or something? “How...” He tried in between harsh breaths. “How do you know my name?”

“We were...tipped off, by an old colleague of yours. It seems as though your particular set of skills are quite valuable to us, Mr. Stark.”

He coughed again, pain shooting across his chest. It was impossible to focus on anything else now, the pain was too much. “It...hurts.” He wheezed.

Hands carded through his hair, sending tiny shards of glass from the car’s windows sprinkling out onto the concrete floor. “I know it does, Mr. Stark. We have a doctor en route. He will help with your...injuries...and then you will help us.” 

“Steve…” Tony choked, suddenly wanting nothing more than his boyfriend. He just wanted to go back to when they were in bed together earlier that morning when they were quiet, and happy, and safe. 

The man “tsk’ed” at him. “That boyfriend of yours is quite protective over you. Wouldn’t leave you alone. We had to wait until he wasn’t around to make our move. It was difficult getting around him.”

But that didn’t explain why was Tony even _here_? “What...what do you want with me?” Oh God, he wasn’t going to be able to speak again for a while. It hurt too much. Like his lungs were bursting straight out of his chest.

“We need weapons, Mr. Stark. Our..._previous_...distributor is being watched by the authorities, so we thought we would go straight to the source.”

Oh _fuck_.

Sometimes he _really_ fucking hated being Tony Stark_._

XX

Bucky Barnes was not having a good day.

It had started off like any other, really. He had stayed over at Natasha’s place, but they had gotten into a fight because he apparently used the last of her _very _expensive shampoo, which was a no-no. How the hell was he supposed to know? What the hell were they putting in the bottle, flecks of gold? She had kicked him out almost immediately, barely giving him any time to throw on a pair of jeans, much less a t-shirt. He had no doubt in his mind that the things she was shouting in Russian were very real, and very serious threats. So, he hauled his ass back home.

He and Sam sweated through a particularly painful workout before Clint, Bruce, and Nat had rendevoued at the house. His russian girlfriend was still pissed at him, a fact that was communicated by her pointedly sitting next to the archer rather than him. He would deal with her later, or more likely, she would deal with him later, after they had something to eat. Turns out there were a few boxes of leftover pizza, so they all settled in to watch Return of the Jedi while they waited for Steve to get back from Tony’s. Steve was _always _at Tony’s nowadays.

And then Steve had rushed in with Tony in tow, which was surprising enough on its own. Steve had been adamant that he didn’t want his boyfriend around the Avengers, at least not yet. Apparently, Tony was some kind of genius who was also from New York, so it wouldn’t take too much for him to put the pieces together. So it didn’t make any sense when they both appeared in the living room looking completely disheveled and disgruntled.

  
And Steve hadn’t been..._Steve_. This was the _Captain_ speaking, and something was very, very wrong. When they reached the warehouse and stuffed themselves into Steve’s office, his best friend dropped a huge fucking bomb on them.

Tony, Steve’s sweet, innocent, _pure_ boyfriend, who Steve didn’t want messed up in Avengers business, was _Tony_ _fucking Stark_. One of the brightest minds of their time, and the best weapons designer in the entire fucking world. Sure, his pops was in charge, but an SI bomb had taken Bucky’s arm in a Hydra base, so he took it upon himself to learn everything about that business inside and out. Including who was the real brains behind SI’s most dangerous weapons. Turns out, Tony designed the damn thing when he was only twelve years old. Then one day he goes off to college and poof, he just happens to disappear. 

Apparently, he was just hanging out in Boston, fucking Bucky’s best friend.

After his short-lived fight with Steve, the four of them spent a few hours drawing up a list of who could possibly want their hands on Tony Stark. The shitty thing was that the list was very, _very_ long. They were at least able to shorten it by half through their next round of research, and then Steve cut it down to only a few potential suspects with his creepy accurate ‘instinct’ thing. The man really was a freak of nature when it came to knowing when something is right or wrong.

And _then…_

And then the hospital called Steve, who was the emergency contact for both Sam and Bruce. There had been an accident. Which didn’t make any sense, of course, because they shouldn’t have left the goddamn house in the first place. But they would have to wait to get their answers because two of their team members were stuck in the ICU.

Steve had been hysterical. Not that it was obvious to anything who didn’t grow up with him, but the tight grip on the ‘oh shit’ handle in the truck, the wild look in his eye as he focused his entire attention on the road while Bucky drove, the way his jaw kept clicking and unclicking. The man was a _mess_. The hospital didn’t have any record of Tony coming in when he asked, so his best friend was desperate to get to Bruce and Sam to figure out what the hell happened. 

When they explained, Bucky’s day went from bad, to worse, to a complete and utter shit show. 

Tony had somehow managed to convince the two that they could wait for Steve in MIT’s engineering lab, and a black F-150 had crashed straight into the left side of the car on the way there. Bruce had been knocked out instantly, but only walked away with a broken collarbone and a fractured wrist while Sam had a few broken ribs and a little internal bleeding that they were able to take care of right away.

The drivers of the truck had taken Tony. They hadn’t even so much as looked at Sam or Bruce, but they went straight for Tony. Sam was a little green as he told them about the obvious injuries he saw on the genius, and Bucky’s hardened stomach threatened to upheave at the possibility that the love of his best friend's life didn’t survive his injuries. Apparently, the glass shards had embedded themselves all along Tony’s body, slicing up his arms and fracturing right inside his chest. Blood had been everywhere. It was difficult to look at the crime scene photos.

Bucky chanced a look at Steve while Sam was telling his story, and _fuck_. This was bad. Bucky had seen Steve wipe out men without a second thought because of an illegal sex ring, had watched him beat the life out of Johann Schmidt because he blew off Bucky’s arm, but he didn’t think he had ever seen his best friend _this _angry.

He knew that Steve loved Tony, because he had told him so. But hearing it and seeing it for himself were two completely different things. A ghost of a smile tugged at Bucky’s lips at the thought of what the Captain was going to do to the people who dared to harm Tony Stark.

XX

Sam and Bruce were required to stay overnight for observation, so Steve ordered the rest of the Avengers back to the warehouse. It was just as well that his two teammates couldn’t join them. That, and the fact that they had suffered some serious injuries in that car crash were the only things keeping him from strangling them both.

How fucking hard was it to follow orders? He had trusted them to watch Tony, to _protect_ him.

And now Tony was gone.

“Widow, I want you on surveillance. Check every traffic camera and restaurant security from here to the University, whatever is available to find out the license plate on that truck. I need targets and I need them now.” He turned to look at the archer. “Clint, check the streets. Find a list of witnesses and see what you can get out of them.” 

“Bucky,” His best friend straightened as he was addressed. “I need your help running through this list of potential suspects. We can cross them off one by one once we confirm that they either were or were not stalking Tony.”

Dear God, it hurt to say his name. Hurt to even think it. The worst part was that Steve didn’t even know if he was alive or dead. He had to fight to stay on his feet when Sam described Tony’s injuries from the crash, at least the obvious ones, and he bit his tongue so hard that it bled when he thought about how much pain the love of his life had to be in.

Tony was _his_. His. And someone had taken him. Someone had _hurt_ him.

Steve promised himself that it was the last thing they would ever do.

XX

When Tony awoke again, the pain had eased somewhat. The walls around him were a rusted grey with honest to god lampposts hanging every few feet. The warm blaze was easier on his eyes than the fluorescent lights. His brain was unfocused and muddled.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Stark.” The man with the accent was back, gleefully reminding Tony that he had been kidnapped by a bunch of lunatics who wanted him to build weapons.

The man appeared in his field of vision, sporting a navy blue lab coat and a hideous smile. Someone seriously needed to get this man some braces. “I trust that our good doctor was able to make your injuries bearable? You were in quite a bit of pain there.”

Tony worked his throat for a few seconds to confirm that he could actually speak without feeling like someone had their hand inside his chest. “He must have given me the good stuff.” 

The man spread his arms out wide and accommodating. “Only the best for our resident engineer. We can’t have you working if your dead.”

Tony snorted, taking stock of all of the wires and IV’s running into his body. “It doesn’t sound like you’ve given me much incentive to cooperate here.”

“I can assure you, Mr. Stark, that we have the proper motivation lined up.” Tony frowned as the temperature around him seem to drop a few degrees. He didn’t like the look in the man’s eyes, nor the sheer confidence he had that Tony would build exactly what they wanted. “We built a bomb.” He said simply.

Tony immediately sat up in his make-shift hospital bed, dismayed to find that he had been strapped down. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Hydra did what it needed to do. The Captain and his Howling Commandos might have stopped us before, but not even the Avengers are a match for us now. Cut off one head, and two more take its place!” The German man clutched at the railings on either side of Tony’s arms and leaned in close, practically hissing. “If you don’t build exactly what we require in the amount of time you are given, then I will set off the explosives we placed at the starting line of the Boston Marathon.”

Tony’s stomach dropped out from under him. The rumors were true, Hydra what _back_. And they were as horrifyingly evil as before. If Tony didn’t do what they wanted, they were going to kill thousands of people. But if he did...there was no telling what kind of damage they could do. New York was still hurting from the devastation Hydra brought a few years back. Tony suddenly wished for the Captain to reappear and save the day again. He stopped them once, he could do it again.

And if the Captain was there to fight, then Tony wouldn’t have to build weapons for these monsters. It was an impossible situation, and he fought the urge to cry. _Stark men are made of iron. _Isn't that what his dad used to say when he had one too many glasses of whiskey? (Which was ALWAYS). He couldn’t show weakness to these people.

_Well fuck you, dad_. Tony thought. _Iron sharpens iron, and you have always been useless._

Someone would find him. Someone would find him and rescue him, and he would tell everyone about the bombs and they would all get to safety. Then he could go home and curl into Steve’s lap, not even caring how angry he was at him at the moment.

Monocle Man leaned back, clapping his clammy hands together. “Now that we understand each other, I would ask that you enjoy the morphine while you can, Mr. Stark. Because tomorrow you’ll get started without the drugs clouding that brilliant mind of yours. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle the pain. After all, what’s one man’s pain to thousands more dead?”

Well fuck you too, Tony growled silently in his head. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend that Steve was right next to him, curled up by his side and telling Tony that everything was going to be okay, that he was coming for him.

XX

It had been three days since Tony had been taken. 

It was safe to say that Steve wasn’t handling his kidnapping well.

Three days to slowly lose his mind. Three days for the anger to build up like an active volcano, crest by crest, waiting for the most opportune time to let loose and obliterate everything in its path.

Three days before they finally had a break in the case.

When Bucky, Natasha, Clint, and Sam approached his desk warily, sliding a 4x6 photograph in front of him, Steve saw red.

Staring back at him was a shot of the driver of the truck that crashed into Bruce’s car from a witness’ camera. A Hydra tattoo was glaringly visible from a spot near the back of his neck. 

When he spoke, Steve was surprised at how even his voice sounded. At least now he would finally have an outlet for his unrelenting anger. “What else do we have?” 

Bucky grunted, “a location.” Steve’s eyes snapped up to meet his, determined and furious. “Nat and Clint were able to find his route, and I crossed checked it with known Hydra bases. There’s only one that lines up with both, Stevie.”

Steve stood up slowly, walking towards his false wall and pressing on a loose panel. It opened to his touch, revealing the perfectly round shield that carried him through his days at the Captain of the Howling Commandos. Once he slotted it along his back, letting it click into place, he turned to his team, eyes blazing with determination and purpose.

“Suit up.”

XX

He might have been Tony Carbonell for the past three years. He might have changed his name, lost his fortune, and kept away from the family business as if his life depended on it, but none of that changed the fact that he was a Stark at the very center of his core.

It’s what made him who he was.

Tony Stark, genius, former and future billionaire, and the greatest weapons designer in the fucking world. The world wasn’t ready to know that though, and he hadn’t been planning on getting back into the game. But of course, fucking Hydra had to go and ruin everything. They had to go and ram a car into him, causing the glass to shred the muscles in his chest apart, and threaten thousands of innocent lives.

As promised, the morphine had run out by the time he had woken up again. Agonizing wasn’t a powerful enough word to describe the pain Tony was in. Every breath and every movement was labored. All he wanted to do was curl up on the hospital bed they had strapped him to and sleep, but they weren’t giving him that option. With the threat of the bomb looming over his head, they thrust Tony into a makeshift workshop with a list of SI weapons they demanded to be made.

Tony knew that there was no way he could make weapons for Hydra. It would go against everything he ever believed in, and it would be a slap to The Captain’s face. The mysterious mob boss and his Commandos had worked tirelessly for three years to shut Hydra down. If Tony did what Hydra wanted, then there would be no stopping them. On the other hand, he couldn’t risk the lives of those running the Boston Marathon. The city had taken too much damage already from the attack in 2013. Nobody deserved to go through that again, and Tony wouldn’t be the reason another bomb went off in his city.

So he made a plan. He was a genius, after all. One that would keep Hydra from getting their hands on SI’s weapons while keeping the people in Boston safe. If he was lucky, maybe he could take out enough of Hydra that the Avengers had a chance of ridding the streets of any strays.

Unfortunately for him, this plan involved blowing the Hydra base sky high with everyone in it.

Tony hadn’t ever contemplated suicide before, no matter how low he got. It didn’t matter how hard his father hit him, or how hungry and tired and skinny he got from not being able to pay for food. He always wanted to change the world, and he couldn’t do that if he wasn’t a part of it.

And then Steve came into his life. Steve showed him what it was like to love another person with every bone in your body and every fiber of your being that the rest of the world fell away. The kind of love that makes your toes curl from just the sweetness of a simple kiss, the kind that pushes all insecurities and fear and worries out the door with a promise you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, will be kept.

So yes, Tony had wanted a life outside of this. Had wanted to change the world with clean energy. Had wanted a life with Steve.

But we don’t always get what we want. Tony didn’t have any sort of medical background, but even he knew that the damage to his chest would most likely kill him in a few days if he wasn’t treated properly. All Hydra really did watch patch him up and pump him full of drugs. So, if he had the chance to save thousands, and he was going to die anyway, he wasn’t going to throw a perfectly good opportunity away.

So, Tony Stark got to work on what he did best. Building weapons. More specifically, a bomb that was included on the list of demands. He was a genius, though, and used the tools he had in front of him to include a biometric scanner in the design. He would build what they asked for, but he would make sure he was the only one able to use it.

And when he did, he would take Hydra with him.

XX

On the third day of his captivity, he was ready. They hadn’t given him hardly any time to eat or sleep, much more focused on having their precious bomb in their hands then to keep the engineer healthy, despite their earlier promises. 

Tony was struggling. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move, and it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. But the bomb was ready. Tony did what upper-society taught him to do, emotionally manipulate the people around you into giving you attention. By the time he described the weapon to Monocle Man, the german scientist was frothing at the mouth, demanding his soldiers left and right to contact their superiors for a live demonstration. Tony was meant to describe the bomb in acute detail, explaining why his design was far better than anything SI could ever hope to build. 

By that evening, the entire building was packed with Hydra members, all anxiously waiting to hear about their new ace in the hole. Tony thought that he would be scared, or nervous for what was about to happen, but instead he felt at peace. He was doing the right thing. He just hoped that Pepper and Rhodey wouldn’t miss him too much, and that Steve would mourn for the appropriate amount of time before moving on with tremendous guilt. A ghost of a smile tugged at Tony’s lips. Who was he kidding? All he wanted was for Steve to be happy. That’s what you wanted for people that you loved. 

About ten minutes before his demonstration was set to begin, something happened that was most definitely not part of the plan.

Loud shouts and gunfire began sounding from down the hall, shaking Tony out of the slight haze of pain he was hidden in. The mass of soldiers around him grunted in confusion, slowly raising their weapons and heading towards the door.

Monocle Man and his superiors stayed in the room with Tony, shouting at their soldiers to find out what the hell was happening. He spun around towards Tony with pure disdain. “Is this your doing?”

Tony blinked, unsure of what he was asking. Did he think that the man they were holding captive with a gaping hold in his chest had somehow managed to call for help? “No…” He answered truthfully, hoping beginning to take root. Maybe the police had found him?

The powerful men in the room shouted at one another, making the migraine between Tony’s temples throb unpleasantly. He didn’t think he could last much longer. This demonstration was supposed to be his swan song, but now he wasn’t even sure if he could get through it.

More screaming and more gunshots, and the tension and panic filling the room was practically choking him. Someone cried out in english, “It’s the Avengers!”

Tony’s head snapped up at that. The Avengers? They were the rival gang that had popped up in Boston. Not much was known about them besides the fact that they were lethal, and very very good at their jobs.

A man limped into the room, his black uniform caked with fresh blood. His face looked like it had come in contact with an anvil. The moment he stepped through the threshold, he stumbled onto his knees. “It’s them, sir.” He rasped.

“Those maggots? The Avengers?” Monocle Man demanded, taking a step towards Tony.

The soldier shook his head, lip trembling. “Nein. It's the Winter Soldier.” His knees gave out on him as well, and he fell to his stomach. “It’s the Captain.” 

Not a soul spoke as they watched the man in front of them lose the fight against his injuries. After a few moments, one of the Hydra leaders turned on Monocle Man. “The Captain? He is here?” 

As the room exploded into arguments and protests, Tony’s mind was reeling. The Captain? If Hydra was so terrified of him, it must be the same man who led the Commandos in New York. He must have moved here to Boston and put together the Avengers. The pieces should have begun connecting right then in there, but Tony was in too much pain and frankly, too relieved that the Captain was here to save the day, to work out the puzzle.

The noise was finally too much for him, and Tony collapsed to the ground. He still held the bomb in his hand and contemplated just setting it off, but he didn’t want to hurt the Captain and his Avengers. They were here to wipe out Hydra, and after what they did in New York, Tony trusted them to get the job done. 

Monocle Man rushed to his side, grabbing Tony by the blood soaked hoodie and thrust him upwards. “The bomb! The bomb! How do you use it?”

Tony just flashed him a cocky smile, tasting blood in his mouth.

“I will set off the bomb at the marathon! You know I will! It might not start until tomorrow, but plenty of people will still be on that street!” The man was getting desperate. When Tony didn’t answer his demands quick enough, he sent his fist flying across his face. 

And then the door burst open behind them, and Tony couldn’t see what was happening, but he could hear it.

“You really, really should not have done that.”

Tony’s entire body stiffened at the sound of the familiar voice. Monocle Man didn’t seem to notice his reaction, because he just gave a dirty laugh and tossed Tony onto the floor like he weighed nothing. He crashed harshly, new waves of pain flooding his vision as he whited out for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, the Hydra leaders had dropped their weapons. All of them except Monocle Man. 

“How!” He demanded, pointing his poor excuse for a gun right at Steve. His Steve. _The Captain_. The iconic circular shield in his hand confirmed it. “How did you even find us?” The rest of the Avengers fanned out around Steve, and Tony did a double take as he recognized Bucky, Natasha, Clint, and Sam.

Holy fuck. _Steve _was the _Captain_. His friends were the _Avengers_. He was dating one of the most powerful crime bosses alive.

“You took something of mine. That was your mistake.” Steve was commanding and authoritative, and Tony recognized his tone from a few days ago when he insisted Tony needed protection. Fuck. This must have been what he was going to explain.

Steve was the fucking Captain.

Monocle Man sputtered in fury. “Something of yours?” He turned towards Tony again, his eyes widening in understanding. “Oh, fu-”

He never finished the sentence, because a bullet was suddenly lodged right between his eyes. Shots rang out around him, and he distantly heard the sound of bodies dropping. Tony heaved, the pain in his chest flaring to life again, and he clutched onto the bomb.

Strong hands were suddenly holding him up, cupping his cheeks. “Tony, sweetheart.” This wasn’t the Captain speaking anymore, it was Steve. His Steve. “Open your eyes for me. Hey, hey.” With great difficulty, Tony did. The movement made him tired, but he found enough strength to speak and hold the device in his hand up.

“Bomb.” He rasped. “Will blow the building…” Another breath. “No more Hydra.”

“Tony, let me get you out of here, and then we can talk about this later.” 

Tony panicked. Steve didn’t understand. Hydra _needed_ to be eliminated, and this was the only way to make sure that happened.

“Thirty second timer.” He explained as he coughed up blood. “Steve,” he pleaded, focusing on his boyfriend’s crystal blue eyes. 

A flash of hardness worked its way into Steve’s handsome features. “Tell me what to do.”

And so he did.

Steve heaved Tony up into his arms, shouting out orders to his teammates to get the hell out of the building and secure the perimeter. Only Bucky stayed behind to cover Steve’s back while he carried Tony.

People were still screaming around him, and the sound of gunfire was almost deafening. He just wanted it to stop.

“We’re ready, sweetheart.” Steve told him, holding him close to his chest and whispering in his ear. Tony took a deep breath and brought the bomb to his lips, using the voice command feature and smearing a trail of his blood onto the scanner. The moment he did, Bucky tore it out of his hands and threw it into the room with the dead Hydra leaders. 

After that, it was all a blur. Logically, he knew they must be running. He knew they must be moving fast, but Tony’s brain wasn’t working at the speed it should have been. All he really remembered was Steve shouting directions at Bucky, then shouting at Tony to stay awake. He knew the moment they stepped outside because the rush of the frigid, waning winter air slammed into them, and he gasped in relief. He was free.

Then he was being ushered into a van, and all he remembered was a distant roar in the background before he let the darkness take him.

XX

Steve didn’t move from Tony’s bedside for six days. The moment they had gotten into the van, Bruce had his medical kit ready. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get Tony to the hospital. The doctors had operated on him for four hours, and Steve had never been so wrung out in his entire life.

The moment they entered the Hydra base, every ounce of anger and devastation that had built up inside of him since Tony had been taken unloaded like a flood. He didn’t even blink as he led the massacre. And then they advanced on the workshop, and Steve watched von Strucker strike his fist across Tony’s face. 

He wanted to obliterate these fuckers for hurting what is his, and he wanted to burn the place to the ground.

And then Tony, his sweet, genius, hurt Tony, had given him the tools to do just that. It was dangerous, but the panicked look in his eyes told Steve that the decision wasn’t negotiable. Natasha and Clint had cleared the street of any pedestrians and innocent bystanders, and Sam and detailed the quickest escape route for them while Bruce readied the van.

Tony worked his magic, and Bucky covered his back while the three of them got the hell out of there. They made it with time to spare, but Tony had passed out by the time they got to the van.

And he hadn’t woken up for six days. They had taken him off of the breathing tube yesterday, confirming that his lungs were strong enough to work on their own.

All he needed to do was wake up.

Steve’s hand was wrapped around Tony’s. He lifted and pressed it to his lips, whispering “I love you” over and over again. He didn’t know if Tony could hear him or not, but if he could, Steve wanted Tony to know that he was here, and that he wasn’t going anywhere. 

His friends had all come to visit in shifts, bringing him food and coffee. Tony’s friends, Pepper Potts and James Rhodes came to visit as well. Steve was well acquainted with Pepper, and had only met Rhodes twice, but he was pleased that they were there for him. They believed the same story he had told the police, that the Avengers had raided a Hydra base to find Tony, and they delivered him to Steve. Rhodes might have been suspicious, but he and Pepper were too focused on Tony’s recovery to put much thought into it. 

Steve gently ran a hand through Tony’s freshly washed hair, still pressing his hand to his mouth. “I love you Tony. Come back to me. Please, sweetheart. I need you.”

He closed his eyes, praying to every deity out there that Tony would come back to him. Steve needed him like he needed air to breathe. He kept him centered, kept him calm. Without Tony, Steve became lost to the Captain. Without Tony, he was just a cold man without a heart. He was Steve’s heart. The love of his life. 

“I need you, Tony. Please.” He begged, his voice cracking with desperation.

When he opened them again, Tony’s caramel brown eyes were staring right back into his. The haze of confusion passed before it was replaced by a glimmer of delight. “You have me, Captain. Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> 08/13/19: The response to this story has been really fantastic, thank you! I wasn't originally planning on writing a sequel, but now I'm inspired. If any of you lovely people have a request of something you would like to see in the next part, I would love to hear it either in the comments or on my tumblr: shesliketexas-17
> 
> 01/10/2020: Thank you to everyone who has commented and given your suggestions for a sequel! I am happy to say that I'll be posting it tonight. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> She'sLikeTexas


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